Mitsubishi output increased by 46% in 2016

GRACING the Adventure milestone celebration at the Cainta headquarters of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) are (from left) MMPC EVP for manufacturing Masato Sada, MMPC EVP for marketing Junya Masuda, MMPC president and CEO Hikosaburo Shibata, Cainta Municipal Administrator Dr. Olga Abellanosa, Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. secretary general Marissa Concepcion, Philippine Automotive Competitiveness Council Inc. executive director Ramon Vicente Kabigting, MMPC EVP, CFO and treasurer Kazuki Sugino, MMPC EVP for overall operations Orlando F. Alvarez Jr. and Antipolo Mayor Casimiro Ynares III.

Local production of Mitsubishi vehicles rose 46 percent in 2016, marking its highest output since 1998, the company said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) said it produced 22,008 units last year, up from 15,066 units in 2015.

MMPC said that it locally manufactured the L300 and Adventure, which were among its best-selling models.

The company, which is gearing up for its participation in the government’s automotive resurgence program, targets to sell 42,000 units in 2017, including the locally produced Mirage models.

“We are pleased to achieve such a huge increase in production volume in 2016. This improvement can be credited to our stable economy which brings forth strong consumer confidence and also the collective efforts of our employees and our business partners,” MMPC President and CEO Yoshiaki Kato said in a statement.

MMPC is one of two automakers registered under the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, where it committed to locally produce at least 200,000 Mirage cars within six years. –Roy Stephen C. Canivel