Mitsubishi Motors acquires PH transmission parts maker

Mitsubishi Motors assembly plant in ASEAN

Mitsubishi  Motors Corp. (MMC) of Japan is beefing up its manufacturing presence in the Philippines. After acquiring the Santa Rosa, Laguna assembly facilities of Ford Philippines, the Japanese carmaker has announced that it has acquired a 90-percent stake in Laguna-based Asian Transmission Corp. (ATC). It says this is part of its strategy to further enhance its component production business and reinforce its operating base in the Asean.

MMC said in a statement that it acquired the stake from its local unit, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC), and from Sojitz Corp. The Japanese automotive manufacturer did not disclose the amount involved in the transaction.

According to MMC, the acquisition will allow it to enhance the “management of its component production business” and use this advantage in the ASEAN region to produce newly-developed transmission components exclusively from ATC starting September this year.

As the production base for components, ATC supplies transmissions and engines for automobiles mainly to MMPC and other Asean countries.

It was established in January 1973 in Calamba, Laguna, and currently has an existing capital of P770 million and 518 employees.

Following the conclusion of the acquisition, MMC now owned 90 percent of the shareholdings of ATC, while the remaining 10 percent is held by the ATC retirement fund.

“One major pillar of MMC’s mid-term business plan is to reinforce its production base in Asean countries. MMC will further reinforce its operating base in Asean countries where the automobile market is expected to have sustainable growth,” MMC explained.

“MMC will do so by strengthening the structure of supplying components within Asean countries, in addition to the restructuring of production capability in the Philippines as announced in March this year,” it further said.

In the Philippines, MMC is expected to invest an initial P10 billion in its Philippine operations to make the country its third manufacturing hub in the Asean.

A statement from the Department of Trade and Industry’s foreign trade office in Japan showed that the proposed capital infusion would be used to increase the current production of MMPC to as much as 100,000 units annually by 2020, from the current 15,000 units.

With report by Amy R. Remo