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COMMERCIAL vehicle manufacturer Universal Motors Corp. (UMC)
is investing P205 million for the establishment of a
production facility for five new models of commercial
vehicles.
The new
manufacturing line, to be put up at the UMC facility in
Santa Rosa, Laguna, will have the capacity to produce
6,676 units of vehicles per year when it starts
commercial operations in July 2009. The project calls
for the acquisition of entirely new sets of production
equipment and machinery.
UMC
plans to assemble in this new facility a sports utility
vehicle with a suggested retail price (SRP) of P750,000,
a utility truck priced at P600,000 SRP, a window van to
be sold at P700,000, a multipurpose vehicle, which will
sell for P600,000, and a station wagon with a unit price
of P600,000.
The
company’s current model lineup includes the Nissan
Frontier Bravado and Navara, the Nissan Urvan Escapade
and Estate and Nissan Patrol.
These
new models, according to the project’s profile filed at
the Board of Investments (BOI), will perform strongly
due to their attributes of being fun-to-drive, high fuel
economy, and spacious and functional interiors.
The BOI
approved the grant of incentives such as income-tax
holidays and duty-free importation of equipment and raw
materials to the project as it qualified under the 2007
Investment Priorities Plan’s preferred activities.
The
project will generate additional employment for 195
persons at full capacity.
Most of
the knockdown parts for the assembly operations will be
sourced from Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. of
Japan.
The company will also ensure the availability of parts
and components needed by the UMC and the end-users.
For its
part, UMC will localize the body stamping operations for
the project by up to 30 percent. |
