Mar 13 2015

President Benigno Aquino is set to issue an order implementing the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program, or CARS, “within this year,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in an interview in his office in Manila. The Philippines will offer tax breaks to as many as three automakers as one of Asia’s fastest growing economies aims to become a regional production hub. The car industry’s supply chain feeds into other industries, and we think that becoming a regional hub will help fill our gaps in manufacturing.”Rommel Gutierrez, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Corp. in Manila Government support will be a factor in determining further investment and future plant expansion. With the minimum production levels car companies are meeting minimum production levels to qualify for the incentives. Volkswagen AG. Aquino, who steps down in June 2016, is raising spending on roads and airports to a record this year to lure more foreign direct investment and bolster growth to as much as 8 percent this year and next. The government has considered annual output of 40,000 vehicles fully built in the country to qualify for benefits, the Manila Bulletin reported in November.