GMA Leads Honda Philippines Ground Breaking Ceremony

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led several government officials in the ground breaking ceremony to signify the start of construction of the new Tanauan, Batangas motorcycle plant of Honda Philippines Inc. (HPI). The President was accompanied by the Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Ryuichiro Yamazaki, Trade and Industry Secretary Juan Santos, Usec. Elmer Hernandez of the Board of Investments, Tanauan City Mayor Alfredo Corona, Santo Tomas Mayor Edna Sanchez, Ambassador Benjamin Sanvictores and senior officials from HPI and its suppliers.

When completed, the new state-of-the-art HPI production facility can produce 500,000 motorcycles annually with potential expansion to 1 million units. Located at a 200,000 square meter (20 hectare) lot within the First Philippines Industrial Park (FPIP) Complex, the P1.3-B plant will house the latest motorcycle production facilities allowing it to produce one motorcycle every 30 seconds. The new plant is expected to generate additional employment opportunities and signal a major, long-term commitment by Honda Motor Company, Ltd. of Japan to the development of the Philippine automotive industry, including the acceleration of the transfer of Honda’s advanced technologies.

In his speech, Satoshi Toshida, Chief Operating Officer of the Asia-Oceania Region and Managing Director of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. stated that the motorcycle market in the Philippines appears to have entered into a period of strong and sustained growth. If the annual demand breaks 500,000 units, Honda expects that a growing number of parts manufacturers will be attracted to invest in the country, thereby increasing the local content ratio, multiply employment opportunities and raise the possibility of exporting a number of models which are unique to this market such as the Honda XR200 and XRM110. He added that Honda will be working hard to encourage the rapid development of supporting industries since their goal is to meet or exceed customers’ expectations by offering products of the highest quality at the most affordable prices.

Toshida cited Honda Parts Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) as an outstanding example of Honda’s success in exporting from the Philippines. HPMC started to export proudly Philippine-made manual transmissions for automobiles around the world in September 2003 and currently has an annual capacity of 140,000 units including transmissions that are exported to countries like the USA, the UK and India. He also mentioned Honda’s concern for the safety of its customers and cited the company’s first safety riding facility which he said will be expanded as the demand increases. He concluded his speech by predicting that while it took 32 years for HPI to achieve its cumulative production of one million units, production of the next million will be achieved in the close future.

For his part, Yasuhiro Oyama, president and general manager of HPI, spoke of the company’s commitment to build a strong relationship with Honda’s Filipino customers and how their efforts were rewarded with their customers’ strong loyalty and trust in Honda products. He stressed that it is this strong relationship that helped the company survive the many challenges it faced during their 35 year existence in the country and helped them achieve their current success.

He also foresees a greater challenge of evolving customer demands and increased needs for mobility, which has repositioned the motorcycle as a practical means of transportation. He likewise acknowledged that the new breed of motorcycle users will be more knowledgeable and that the competition is responding by improving their products and services. These factors, Oyama concluded, will fuel the motorcycle industry’s growth to new heights.

President Arroyo congratulated Honda for their achievements and thanked them for their continuous commitment to the Philippines. During her interaction with the media, she stated that she would use her executive powers, like increasing the tariff of imported used vehicles, to protect companies like HPI who invest to bring jobs and technological advancement to the country. She also congratulated HPI’s sister company, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI), for winning the first Philippine Car of the Year award with its Honda Accord V6.