GM not putting up assembly plant in RP

General Motors Automobiles Philippines Inc. (GMAPI) still has no plans to put up assembly operations in the country even white it is set to bring in completely built up (CBU) units of the Subaru Forester.

Harold K.J. Koh, GMAPI president and general manager, said the company will reconsider its position only if the government agrees to reverse its policy on semi-knocked down (SKD) units.

Government had terminated the importation of SKDs to encourage the full development of the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) and the local parts manufacturing industry.

SKD and completely-knocked down (CKD) imports are subject to a low three percent tariff, while CBUs are subject to a 33 percent tariff wall.

Koh said that under the Ramos administration, government had noted abuses of the SKD policy.

He said the Estrada administration had loosened up on its SKD policy following its approval of the SKD importation of Daimler-Chrysler.

Koh pointed out though that SKD imports do not benefit the government and only results in lost revenues because of the low tariff rate.

Under the MVDP, local assemblers who have been allowed to initially bring in SKDs must shift within 18 months to CKD assembly.

Koh said that if there is a level playing field and government opens up SKD Imports to all local car manufacturers, GMAPI "would like to reassess the opportunities."

GMAPI is bringing in sometime in May its sports utility vehicle, the Subaru Forester to compete with the Honda CRV, the Toyota Rav 4 and even with Ford Motor Philippines own SKD.

Ford has recently applied with Malacañang to import SKDs of its compact SUV, the Ford Escape. – Marianne Go