Gov’t OKs Toyota suppliers for local Vios production

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) said four of its suppliers had been certified by the government to help in the requirements of an ambitious local car manufacturing program.

In a statement, the company said the Board of Investments (BOI) awarded certificates of registration for the projects of the four parts makers, worth a total of P1.3 billion, for the local car production of Toyota’s Vios model under the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.

CARS is a P27-billion government initiative that planned to pick three car manufacturers to locally produce a combined 600,000 units within a six-year period.

TMP and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.—the country’s top selling car companies—were able to qualify for the program’s requirements, leaving the third firm an allotted budget of P9 billion.

Market leader Toyota registered under the BOI program in 2016, committing to locally produce 230,000 units of the Vios model. TMP’s total CARS investments have already reached P5.2 billion to date.

TMP’s registered parts makers are: Manly Plastics, Inc. (Manly), Technol Eight Philippines Corporation (TEP), Toyota Boshoku Philippines Corporation (TBPC) and Valerie Products Manufacturing, Inc. (Valerie). TMP said these firms would be producing body shell and large plastic (BSLP) parts for the New Vios.

A BOI source said Toyota tapped Japanese companies based here, going against the goal of providing opportunities for Filipino parts suppliers.

The two car makers, however, have chosen to tap firms that were mostly, if not all, Japanese affiliates, according to Ferdinand I. Raquelsantos, president of Parts Makers Association Inc. in a previous interview.

In their defense, BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo had previously said the car firms had the discretion to choose which suppliers they would partner with as long as the requirements of the CARS program were followed.

TMP said it had been preparing for the production of the New Vios since 2016, building a reliable supplier network. For some of the suppliers, it was necessary to obtain a technical assistance agreement (TAA) with Toyota suppliers in Thailand to address quality and technical capability gaps, Toyota said.