The automotive industry, while confident of hitting its full-year target in 2022, warned of the impact on its recovery of a plan to remove the excise tax exemption on pick-up vehicles.
Atsuhiro Okamoto, president of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) Corp., said the removal of the exemption will have a “big impact on our industry.”
Okamoto said “TMP and Mitsubishi (Motor Philippines Corp. or MMPC) continue (our) local production to contribute to the Philippine society and across the industry. “
“We need to coexist with the environment. To (develop) the automotive industry or mobility industry in the near future, (we have to) make it more sustainable… to that point, we want to request support from the government,” said Okamoto told a press conference announcing the Philippine International Motor Show on September 15 to 18 at the World Trade Center.
Takeshi Hara, president of the MMPC, shared Okamoto’s view saying TMP and MMPC are focused on two things.
“We are always talking about sustainable growth of the automobile industry and (how to contribut(e) to Philippine society,” Hara said.
While the plan to remove tax exemption is still subject for discussion, Rommel Gutierrez, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) said the industry believes taxes will increase the cost of these vehicles especially that the market is price sensitive.
“This will definitely impact the prices. We have not yet recovered fully to pre-pandemic levels. We have expressed our concern initially, but we will continue working with government,” Gutierrez said, citing how collaboration on the issue of safeguard measures in the past was able to strike a balance between the interests of government and the private sector.
The plan to remove the tax exemption forms part of a rider on an existing bill, the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act approved by the House ways and means committee Wednesday last week.
Gutierrez said the industry is sticking to its target of hitting 336,000 units by yearend as it has so far achieved 56 percent of the goal as of end of June.
“We are confident the trend will continue and that we are looking at hitting our target by the end of the year,” Gutierrez said.
In 2021, the light commercial vehicle segment under which pick-ups are classified accounted for 77 percent of total Campi sales 141,321 units.
The 8th edition of PIMS 2022 focuses on introducing innovations that will provide safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility to the people with the theme “Mobility + Humanity: Innovating for the Common Good.”
This year’s motor show returns after a four-year hiatus and brings together 13 of the top automotive brands including long-term partners BMW, Foton, Honda, Isuzu, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, and Toyota, as well as new members Chery, Geely, and Hyundai which will unveil their latest and most recent innovations that will drive the future of mobility.
