By Monico D. Mekaniko
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – Car companies in the Philippines are enjoying brisk sales which is attributed to a stronger domestic economy.
Amid strong sales in automotive industry the first half of 2012, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Incorporated (CAMPI) is also raising sales forecast from 154,000 units to 185,000 units, citing increasing consumer and business buying confidence.
In addition, the industry is setting its sights to a nine percent growth for the whole of 2012.
During a speech at the recently held 2012 Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) CAMPI President Rommel Gutierrez noted on higher numbers of public-private partnerships (PPP) that enable private institutions to establish their industries with the help of infrastructure buildup and policy guidelines.
One highlight of the expected growth of the industry, according to Gutierrez, is crafting a roadmap that would enable the automotive manufacturers and assemblers in the Philippines to remain competitive, as well as entice auto manufacturers abroad to invest in the country.
Gutierrez added that having a roadmap and support of the government should improve the automotive industry and also contribute to economic growth. He stressed that the automotive sector contributed 12 percent to the country's overall industrial sector output, apart from the four percent total gross domestic product for the year 2011.
“In addition, a 100 billion-peso worth of investments in the domestic automotive manufacturing industry is estimated to generate at least 169,061 new jobs,” Gutierrez said.
As of 2011, the industry generated P120 billion worth of investments and created at least 400,000 jobs. He added that companies paid over P30 billion worth of duties and taxes to the government while generating at least $4 billion in total exports.
“We expect the figures to be better for 2012. Even with the supply disruptions in Thailand and Japan that hampered our growth, our auto industry’s economic footprint remains significant,” Gutierrez said.
Till next time, this is Monico D. Mekaniko, Va-va-vroom!
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