Local partners upbeat on new MMPC leadership

Partners of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. welcomed the recent appointment of Mutsuhiro Oshikiri, the Japanese automaker’s new president and CEO.

Oshikiri was formally welcomed last July 27 in a turnover ceremony held at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City. He assumed responsibilities last Aug. 1, 2017.

Eddie Jose, VSO Group president and Philippine Parts Makers Association chairman emeritus, expressed delight of Oshikiri’s appointment: “We are very lucky to have been given the opportunity to work with a company such as MMPC that made a valuable contribution to the Philippine economy, more specifically, to the growth of the local automotive industry.”

Jose refers to MMPCs recent participation to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy or CARS program wherein through a P4.3 billion worth of investment, the company is now producing locally both the Mirage G4 sedan (rolled off last February 2017) and hatchback (rolled off last June 2017) models.

Localization

Aside from the new jobs created, Jose is especially glad that 31 local parts suppliers are benefiting from this development.

Incidentally, MMPC is currently working on improving its parts localization activities that will further increase the local content ratio.

“MMPC has played a remarkable role in uplifting the Filipino skill and competence by providing jobs and specialized training in automotive production, quality control and engineering,” said Jose.

“We wish that MMPC, under Oshikiri’s leadership, will continue to heed the call of our country’s nation building programs and support the local automotive industries,” he added.

Jose underscored the importance of having strong leadership, and Oshikiri’s experience is expected to serve MMPC and its partners well at this important time when MMPC and its partners have joined in a plan to help lift profitability for the sector.

Optimism

CHING

One of the biggest dealers of Mitsubishi welcomed Oshikiri’s appointment with a high degree of optimism.

“We’re all excited,” said Paul Ching of the Citimotors Group which handles dealerships in Makati, Cavite and Las Piñas.

“Mitsubishi is set to announce so many exciting products and promos in the next few months and we expect Oshikiri to convey a fresh perspective to our dealers and the entire MMPC team that he will now lead,” he added.

Raffy Juan, president of Centro Manufacturing Corp., a leading truck body builder and partner of MMPC, believes Oshikiri brings many years of experience in the global automotive industry to his new role here in the Philippines.

JUAN

“At the same time, we are sorry to say goodbye to Yoshiaki Kato, but wish him the greatest success in his next assignment,” Juan said.

“We welcome Oshikiri to his new position and look forward to working with him and MMPC as we bring our organizations more closely together to deliver even better results for the Philippine automotive industry going forward,” he added.