Volkswagen plans to invest as much as $200 million dollars to build a car assembly plant in the Philippines.
In an announcement on Thursday, executives said “We are prepared to deploy the investment. We’re just waiting for favorable response [from the government],” Volkswagen Philippines president and chief executive John Philip Orbeta said at the sidelines of the Manila International Auto Show at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Volkswagen has submitted a proposal to the government to construct a knock-down facility before getting into manufacturing – the car company presently imports all its vehicles into the Philippines.
“If they will allow us [for] phase 1 of our CKD proposal, that will be about $40 to $50 million. If we can get to phase 2, we’re ready to spend as much $150 million on top of the first investment,” Orbeta said.
He said the company was prepared to deploy the capital, but wanted to first secure an assurance from the government to allow the company to operate as an assembler.
Orbeta said Volkswagen could complete the facility in less than a year. “We’re starting the project from scratch, but we’re also a bit advanced, so we can really do the project in less than year,” he said.
Volkswagen has launched a feasibility study on the entire scope of the project – the study is being lead by the Ayala Automotive Group and Volkswagen Philippines.
The company said its sales in the Philippines topped 600 units in 2014 – so far in 2015 their sales are up by 80 units per month and the company expect that number to rise to 150 per month.