Automotive

It was just a question of when. Even as the current Ford Philippines president Randy Krieger took over local operations more than a year ago, the writing was already on the wall.

MANILA, Philippines – Local auto parts makers are urging the government to review the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) and fasttrack approval of pending bills to help the auto market and encourage other auto assemblers to stay in the country amid Ford Philippines’ planned closure of its assembly plant.

They weren’t surprised by the bad news. In fact, the employees of Ford Motor Co. Philippines’ assembly plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna saw it coming.

MANILA, Philippines – Ford Philippines, a unit of US-based automaker Ford Motor Co., is halting its assembly operations in its plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna by the end of this year. The shutdown is expected to affect about 250 employees.

Contrary to President Aquino’s claim that businesses are rushing to invest in the Philippines, the local unit of US auto giant Ford Motors announced yesterday it will close its local vehicle assembly plant in the Philippines by the end of the year, with the loss of 360 jobs, as part of an ongoing restructuring across…

MICHIGAN-BASED Ford Motor Co. announced that it is shutting down its 30,000-unit capacity manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, at the end of the year due to its failure to achieve economies of scale and the lack of parts supplier base in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The local auto industry is asking up to 100 percent excise tax rebate from the government to make local manufacturing more competitive.

We have to make up our minds sooner than we want to. Our car manufacturing industry, or what little of it that we have, is on the verge of dying. Our car market is growing, but the share of locally manufactured (assembled) cars is going down. In 1993 when the total number of vehicles sold…

THE automotive manufacturing industry roadmap, which was unveiled on Tuesday at the Third Automotive Manufacturing Summit, proposes the transformation of the industry from assembly of completely knocked down units for the domestic consumers to outright manufacturing of vehicles for the local and export markets.

MANILA, Philippines – The local auto industry is looking at a full recovery this year after slowing down in 2011, with sales seen to grow 8.74 percent this year.

Local vehicle assemblers ended last year with a four percent contraction over 2010 with Honda suffering the biggest loss. Latest figures show all product categories posting decline in sales.

UNCERTAINTIES from Europe cast a dark cloud over the prospects of the local automotive industry, with supply woes seen to plague the sector until early next year. Dr. Wayne Lee, president and chief executive officer of Universal Motors Corp., said during an exclusive roundtable interview with The Manila Times that the twin disasters that hit…

Japanese car maker says it will halt output in the Philippines starting today due to parts shortages amid the floods in Thailand.

THE Philippine units of Toyota, Mitsubishi Motors, and Nissan said they would keep their targets amid planned adjustments stemming from supply disruptions caused by massive flooding in Thailand.

DOMESTIC vehicle sales showed signs of improvement in September, but the first nine-month performance remained sluggish despite easing supply chain woes.

More lawmakers want to grant incentives to car makers who build or import cars that are powered by electric or hybrid engines or those that run on alternative fuel in a move to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel.

ISUZU Philippines Corp. wants the government to regulate the importation of used vehicles to increase the productivity and competitiveness of local auto manufacturers.

VEHICLE SALES were down 4.1% as of August from a year earlier, industry groups yesterday reported, putting more pressure on growth targets for a year marked by supply disruptions.

MANILA, Philippines – Sales of the local auto industry declined by four percent during the first seven months of the year from a year ago as the industry continues to grapple with the after effects of the twin disasters in Japan.

MANILA, Philippines – Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) together with locators of the Toyota Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) appealed yesterday to the government to improve the competitiveness of local parts suppliers.

MANILA, Philippines – A slight decline in auto sales was recorded in the first six months of the year due to continued supply limitation. The joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that sales went down by 1.6 percent to 70,000 units…

Vehicle and auto parts makers affected by the March 11 earthquake in northern Japan are starting to resume normal operations, with the affected plants now mostly up and running.

Automotive importers and distributors are still bullish on their 2011 sales, saying their supply chain has remained intact amid disruptions encountered by the rest of the industry.

MANILA, Philippines –  Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) said yesterday its operations will return to two shifts next month after cutting its production by 50 percent as a result of the twin disasters in Japan last March.

MANILA, Philippines – The auto industry continues to grow in sales despite supply problems as a result of the twin disasters in Japan.

SALES of imported vehicles outpaced those of locally assembled models during the first quarter, according to the Philippine Automotive Federation Inc. (PAFI)

THE Philippines’ second-biggest auto assembler will cut its production by about two-fifths this month because of the lack of important vehicle parts from Japan.

Manila, Philippines – After shutting down its manufacturing plant for three days, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), the country’s largest auto manufacturer, announced it will cut its production by 50 percent and will reduce its work week to only three days as it grapple with the aftermath of the twin disasters in Japan.

MANILA, Philippines – Isuzu Corp. Philippines said they will shut down their operations today (April 18) until the beginning of May because of parts supply problems.

TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) said the crisis in Japan will not have a significant impact on its financial performance even as the company implemented a two-week holiday to monitor its supply.