Mitsubishi Adding Mirage Small-Car Output in Philippines

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is preparing to assemble Mirage small sedans in the Philippines as soon as next year, according to The Nikkei.

The Tokyo-based newspaper says MMC intends to make about 30,000 Mirages per year at a factory acquired from Ford Motor Co. last year. The facility currently builds Mitsubishi Adventure SUVs and L300 commercial vans.

MMC is adding the Mirage because of government tax incentives intended to offset the cost of importing production components not available through the country's meager auto supply base. To qualify, a carmaker must achieve local output of 200,000 vehicles over six years, starting in 2016.

Car sales in the Philippines surged 30% to a record 270,000 units last year, The Nikkei reports. But it notes only about 88,000 of those cars and trucks were assembled locally.