MANILA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Philippine unit of Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp said on Tuesday it plans to increase local production by 17 percent next year on expectations of strong demand during an election season.
Output of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, the second-biggest automaker in the country after Toyota Motor Corp, is forecast to fall 15 percent to 14,935 units this year after the company transferred to a new production facility south of the capital, First Vice President Froilan Dytianquin told Reuters.
"Normally during election time, the sales of vehicles shoot up, especially for our vehicles the L300 and Adventure. These are utility vehicles used for campaign periods," Dytianquin said, adding that output is forecast at 17,490 units next year.
Filipinos will elect a president, vice president and more than 18,000 local government executives and lawmakers in the general elections to be held in May.
The carmaker manufactures Adventure and L300 models locally, with production posting a record high of 17,619 units in 2014.
Mitsubishi Philippines' new production facility, acquired from Ford Motor Co last year, has an annual capacity of 50,000 units, which it could double.
Automotive sales in the country jumped 22 percent to 234,951 units in the first 10 months from a year ago, already eclipsing the 234,747 units sold during the entire 2014, data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc showed.
Top Japanese carmakers are awaiting the implementing rules on a $600-million government incentive scheme, aimed at reviving the local car manufacturing sector, before putting in more investments.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Sunil Nair)