Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is bullish about its continued growth but has raised concerns over some issues affecting the company and the economy, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said.
In a statement on Wednesday, PEZA officials said companies within the Toyota Group, in a meeting in Paranaque City on June 20, raised significant concerns that need to be clarified or addressed.
These concerns include the incentives available under the government’s Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act, value-added tax-related matters, and the potential impact of evolving global trade dynamics, particularly tariffs imposed under the Trump administration.
PEZA and TMP could not be reached immediately for further details.
The PEZA statement said the Toyota companies sought the agency’s continued advocacy and coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other key agencies to support the competitiveness of the local automotive sector.
The Toyota Group includes export suppliers in the 82-hectare Toyota Special Economic Zone in Santa Rosa City, Laguna.
TMP is currently the largest automotive company in the country, assembling Innova, Vios and Tamaraw.
The Philippines is Toyota’s 10th-largest global market and the fifth-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region.
During the meeting, PEZA Director-General Tereso Panga emphasized the ongoing initiatives of the agency and the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration in supporting continued growth of the automotive sector.
“The Philippine government is proactively working to build a robust and competitive automotive supply base,” Panga said.
“This includes strategic efforts such as negotiating more favorable tariff regimes under Most-Favored Nation (MFN) terms, attracting key manufacturers to diversify from China under the China +2 strategy, and expanding the country’s free trade agreement network with key economies such as the European Union, India, and Canada,” Panga added.
Panga also cited TMP’s approach of embedding its supply chain in the Philippines as reflecting PEZA’s own vision of cultivating ecosystems within its ecozones, where manufacturers and their downstream partners can operate seamlessly and competitively.
PEZA said that during the dialogue, the Toyota companies presented a comprehensive review of their 2024 performance and shared a positive outlook for 2025.
The TMP website states that TSEZ is home to several investors who hold strategic roles in the manufacture and export of automotive products to ASEAN, Japan, and other parts of the world.
TMP’s existing manufacturing plant has the capacity to produce over 60,000 units of Innova, Vios and Tamaraw annually through two-shift production operations.
Toyota and its premium brand, Lexus, sold 218,019 units last year, representing a 9 percent increase from 200,031 units in 2023.
