Auto parts makers rejoin Taiwan auto parts show

MANILA, Philippines - The local automotive industry seeks to attract more Taiwanese auto Parts makers to invest in the country by participating in the Taiwan Automotive & Auto Parts Industry (AMPA) Show, the biggest auto parts show in Asia.

Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) director for commercial affairs Dita Angara-Mathay said this year marks the second time the country, through the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP), will join the event.

Mathay said last year, the country’s MVPMAP-led participation in the AMPA Show generated $15.075 million in initial sales and an estimated annual $50 million to $80 million in new revenues for local auto parts makers starting 2010, using Taiwan as a jump-off point to markets in China, the Middle East, the EU, Africa and Oceania. 

“Significant leads are now the subject of capacity expansions for our players supplying high-value performance parts for racing, replacement mufflers, radiators, leaf springs and allied products,” said Mathay.

The country’s participation in AMPA Show is part of the marketing efforts of MECO in Taipei to help drive revenues of Philippine manufacturers and generate new inward investment inquiries from Taiwan, Mathay said.

“As a result, MVPMAP changed its five-year strategy of non-participation in overseas trade fairs via a commitment to organize the first-ever Philippine automotive parts and accessories country trade participation in AMPA 2009. The compelling program led to the group’s decision to choose Taiwan as the venue of its first overseas trade fair participation in eight years,” she added.

In addition to the trade fair, MECO has arranged and confirmed separate business-to-business matching activities for the Philippine auto parts delegates with 31 Taiwanese companies in Taipei and 15 companies in Kaohsiung.

Mathay said MECO was also able to establish new connections with members of the automotive sector of the Taipei Hsien SME Association in Taipei and the Kaohsiung Auto Parts Makers Association.

She said MECO likewise arranged a meeting of the delegates with senior officials of the Department of Industrial Technology of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. The meeting is meant to serve as a jump off point for discussions on RP-Taiwan cooperation in the design and development of the prototype and key components (battery, motor and controllers) of the E-Quad, the country’s electric utility vehicle project.