By Alden M. Monzon
The local unit of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) has set its eyes on a 22 percent vehicle sales growth in 2023, banking on the continued strong consumer demand for vehicles to drive sales towards pre-pandemic levels this year.
“We are looking at a total of 58,700 units but we are pushing it to 59,800 because we see an increase in demand in the market,” Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) Vice President for Sales and Marketing Cesar Ramirez Jr. said on Friday last week on the sidelines of the company’s 60th anniversary celebration.
The MMPC executive said they also see the sales of the Mitsubishi Xpander–its seven-seater multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) –driving the growth, which currently accounts for 36 percent of the total sale.
Further, Ramirez said that they are also still seeing signs of pent-up demand caused by the pandemic to drive sales in 2023, as well as people rushing to buy their pickups before the government removes the excise tax exemption for this vehicle segment.
“If the government can consider postponing the implementation of the excise tax until next year, that would be best for the automotive industry. We want to continue the good pickup sales in the market,” said Ramirez.
To recall, lawmakers from the House of Representatives approved last year the passage of an expanded tax reform bill that intends to bring back excise tax for pickup trucks.
If the proposed legislation becomes a law, it is expected to bring in incremental revenues amounting to P18 billion next year and P7.9 billion in 2024.
Despite this, the MMPC executive said they intend to bring at least one new vehicle model to the Philippine market this year, thereby expanding their lineup.
Likewise, he said that they are also looking to achieve a 16-percent local market share by the end of their current fiscal year next month, with an even bigger goal of an 18-percent market share by 2025.
Vehicle sales in the Philippines reached 352,596 units in 2022, growing 31 percent from the previous year’s 268,488 unit sales.
PHOTO: Mitsubishi Motors Corp. president and CEO Takao Kato and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. president Takeshi Hara joins top government officials, special guests, business partners and company executives during the 60th anniversary celebration of MMPC last Friday.
