Philippines market leader Toyota isn’t worried by the influx of cheaper cars from China.

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Danny Isla, company first vice president for marketing, told Manilastandardtoday.com that Chinese-made cars were not a threat to the Japanese because they catered to different market segments.


“Chinese cars are not a threat to us. The market is different. These cheaper cars from China cater to the lower C and D segments and these markets are very marginal,” said Isla in a recent interview.


The profile of these markets, he added, was also a deterrent in itself.


“Finance companies are not too receptive in providing financing for Chinese cars not because of the cars but because of the profile of the target market. Unlike motorcycles where there is a lot of financing available in the market, this is not so for Chinese cars,” Isla said, according to the report.

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He said financing for purchase of motorcycles was similar to buying big-ticket appliances using a credit card. These items, he added, were not so expensive and relatively affordable. So even when the payment was stretched for at least two years, the risk was not so high.


Chery Automobile, the fourth largest car producer in China, started to ship vehicles to the Philippines last year, Manilastandardtoday.com said.


Geely Group last year plans to build an assembly plant in the Subic Bay Freeport to produce its affordable Geely cars line, it added.


Isla said with cars priced at P385,000 each, these Chinese cars would not compete directly with Japanese cars, whose entry level models are priced at more than P500,000 each.