It’s no illusion, Mirage to be assembled in PH 2017

ASSEMBLY of the Mirage at the MMPC Sta. Rosa plant will provide jobs for more Filipinos.

It could have very well been an early Labor Day gift from Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. at the April 29 unveiling of the 2016 Mirage at the Solaire Resort and Casino, as MMPC president and CEO Yoshiaki Kato declared, “Starting next year, under the CARS program of the government, we are going to start assembling the Mirage in our Sta. Rosa plant. This project continues the 50-plus-year legacy of MMPC being a major employer in the local automotive industry, providing quality direct employment for hundreds of

Filipinos and many thousands of indirect employment for suppliers and service providers.”

The Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program—or Executive Order No. 182—in a nutshell provides financial incentives of up to P27 billion for three participating carmakers to enroll three different car models for local assembly, or about P9 billion in incentives per model, on the condition that production outputs for each model must reach 200,000 units over a six-year period, for a grand total of 600,000 locally produced units over six years.

The CARS program aims to double the current production volume of locally assembled vehicles.

In a separate interview, MMPC first vice president and corporate secretary and Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) VP Dante Santos disclosed: “MMPC submitted its ‘application to participate’ last March 2 and continues to actively respond to all information requests that are being raised by the CARS Project Management Office of the Board of Investment (BOI).”

He added, “We earnestly await the completion of the BOI assessment, the approval of our application, and the subsequent issuance of the Certificate of Registration.

“Meanwhile, MMPC continues to prepare for this program via initiation of investments in fixed assets to support the new model, preparing the assembly lines from facilities upgrades, to hiring of additional manpower. “MMPC has already interacted with many domestic and foreign parts makers who will be our business partners in this venture.”

With the news of the 2016 Mirage being under the CARS program a few days before the national elections, Santos expressed his wish for the succeeding administration to stick to the program.

“(The next President) should fully support programs such as the CARS, investment priority programs, and the Motor Vehicle Development Program,” which, he said, would encourage investments for local production.

MITSUBISHI PH president and CEO Yoshiaki Kato

Such productivity will cascade to local suppliers that would thereafter increase capacity and employment.

“As the automotive industry is highly influenced by external factors, it would be advisable if we expand abilities on the following: port operations in Batangas to handle more shipments and stave off potential bottlenecks at the Manila ports. Such improvements should accommodate arrivals from foreign origins to the transport of finished goods within the country.

ONE OF the stars in the hatchback model in the small car segment

“There should also be improvements in communication and upgrades in Web connectivity for faster trade negotiations and operations coordination both local and international,” said Santos.

LESLIE Sy—all of 300-plus lbs—sits comfortably in the passenger seat.

“There should also be road network improvements to respond to the increase in vehicle population—both personal and commercial, not only in Metro Manila but in all developing provincial hubs like Pampanga, Davao and Cebu,” added Santos.

Euro 4 engine

At the Grand Ballroom of Solaire, the 2016 Mirage GLX and GLS variants were revealed.

Both are powered by a

3-cylinder, 1,200-cc engine with the exclusive Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control (Mivec) system managed by a 5-speed manual transmission and the Continuously Variable Transmission.

Kato described the Mirage: “Since its introduction in 2012, the Mirage has been a standout among hatchback models in the small car segment. In fact, it has been in the Top 10 Passenger Cars list since 2012, selling an average of 5,000 units a year.

“The highlight came in 2012 when it was awarded the Car of The Year by the Car Awards Group. Among the hatchback models in the micro and small car segments, the Mirage is currently the third best-selling model.”

The engine—which achieves a maximum output of 76 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 100 Newton-meters of torque at 4,000 rpm—is now Euro 4 compliant.

The Mirage’s exterior styling also gets the most updates. Here are eight of them.
1. The new bumper design with new chrome grille evokes a sportier look.
2. The GLS variant is now equipped with new Bi-xenon High Intensity Discharge headlamps with LED-type position lamps.
3. Alloy wheels for both variants have been redesigned. The GLS is now equipped with
15-inch two tone alloy wheels, while the GLX variant has
14-inch alloy wheels.
4. Two exterior colors have been added: Wine Red Pearl and Sunrise Orange Metallic, reflecting the youthful and sporty stance. Other hues are Cool Silver, Majestic Red, Medium Bus Mica, Virgil Fray, Aurora White, Savanna White and Pyrenese Black.
5. Mirage’s black-themed interior has new black fabric seats.
6. The GLS variant’s meter cluster is updated to white lit semi high contrast for improved brightness.
7. Additional features for both variants are “welcome home” lights, making it easier to locate the Mirage in the parking lot at night.
The lights, including the head lamps, stay on for 60 seconds after shutting off the engine before automatically switching off, illuminating your path from the car.
8. The front and rear position lamps and room lamp stay on for 30 seconds when the doors are unlocked via the keyless entry transmitter.
The suggested retail introductory price starts at P553,000 for the GLX MT; P603,000 for the GLX CVT; P663,000 for the GLS MT; and P713,000 for the top-of-the-line GLS CVT.
The Mirage has an extended warranty period of five years or 100,000 kilometers, whichever comes first.

FROM left: Froilan Dytianquin, FVP Marketing; Hirofumi Shibata, EVP, treasurer and CFO; Yasuhiro Maruyama, EVP Manufacturing; Junya Masuda, EVP Marketing and Yoshiaki Kato, president and CEO photos by Eugene Araneta