Philippines to begin Mirage hatchback & sedan assembly in 2017

[MetroMPG]

Mitsubishi has applied to produce both the Mirage hatchback and sedan in the country starting in January 2017 under a government manufacturing incentive program:

“We project [annual manufacturing numbers] for both variants -- the sedan and the hatchback -- around more than 20,000,” Froilan G. Dytianquin, Mitsubishi’s first vice-president for marketing told reporters

It looks like the vehicles will be for domestic sale only, at least initially:

Asked about plans to export the Mirage sedan and hatchback, Mr. Dytianquin said that for now, all locally manufactured cars under the program are targeted for the domestic market. “Hopefully that (exports) would be something to be considered in the midstream of the program,” he said, citing possible considerations such as quality, cost and delivery that might make overseas shipments a tough target for the company.

Full article: http://www.bworldonline.com/content....2017&id=126834

[Daox]

Interesting. I wonder why they're doing this. Is labor in Philippines cheaper than Thailand? Or are sales in PH just that good that it benefits them?

[man114]

Interesting. I wonder why they're doing this. Is labor in Philippines cheaper than Thailand? Or are sales in PH just that good that it benefits them?

Probably forward looking on top of the incentive. I'm guessing those G4s are going to be a hit here in the US for rental car agencies. Should this happen they'll have production in place. My friend works for Avis and they used to buy loads of Galants even if consumers didn't. They really primarily care about cost and reliability. They've already started using the Mirage hatchback in the economy class, the G4 will likely be a suitable but cheaper alternative for them in that class for the Rio and Fiesta. He expects Avis will start using these as soon as they become available.

Mitsubishi doesn't really have any brand stigma, it just has no brand presence or identity, so people renting them really won't care. The only thing they ever advertise is the Outlander. More likely people who rent then simply are unlikely to know what it is.