Autoitalia set to locally assemble Piaggio Ape

MANILA: Last Friday, a ceremonial signing of a technical licensing agreement to assemble CKD (complete knocked-down) kits happened at the Manila Golf and Country Club between Autoitalia Philippines Enterprises, Inc. and Piaggio India.

The deal “aims to change the light commercial vehicle landscape in the Philippines by providing an innovative platform to all transport, mobile businesses and delivery needs.”

“We have been allowed to assemble Ape CKD units in the Philippines for local distribution,” said Autohub Group general manager Miguelito Jose in an interview with Zigwheels.ph. Two Ape models will be produced, the Ape City (gas) and Piaggio Auto DX (diesel), starting before the end of the year or by early next 2021. The production target is 10,000 units.

The contract paves the way for Piaggio three-wheeled vehicles to be registered to the Board of Investments (BOI) under Executive Order (EO 156) or the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) to assemble, manufacture and distribute the same to the Philippine territory. These will be in a (CKD) state of importation from Piaggio Vehicle Private Limited (PVPL) Inc. in India and subsequently provide Autoitalia the opportunity to export the products to ASEAN countries like Laos and Cambodia.

The signing of technical licensing agreement gives Autoitalia the privilege to do both domestic and export sales, and open ownership to Piaggio for infusion of capital. The joint venture and Autoitalia will remain domestic oriented.

“The future plan, other than local distribution, is to cater to ASEAN markets, which can now can take advantage of tariff-free Piaggio Ape units under the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area),” added Jose.

Regional value content (RVC) is 40%, meaning that the percentage of CKD components should come locally or be sourced from the ASEAN region. This would allow export to ASEAN to use the duty-free ASEAN rate. This would mean that Piaggio would have to do sourcing and manufacturing and assembly operations including painting and welding of major components of the vehicle here.

Present during the event were the top executives from Piaggio India, Autoitalia and BOI in the Philippines: Autohub president and CEO Willy Tee Ten, senior vice president and group general manager Miguelito Jose, PVPL vice president for export Sudhanshu Agrawal, Piaggio Group country manager for export sales Sunil Singh, DTI Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Rowel Barba. BOI Governor Angelica Cayas, executive director of Industry Development Services

Ma. Corazon Dischosa, director for Manufacturing Industries Service Evarise Cagatan, industry development group of Manufacturing Industries Service Lourdes Chan, and chief investments specialists of Manufacturing Industries Service Melania Dingayan.

Also present were members of SBH Virgo Corporation: the owner of the facility to rent for the assembly plant Richard “Dennis” Hain, SBH Virgo incorporator Dondon Hain, SBH Virgo sales executive Bong Baetiong, and SBH plant specialist and product development associate Joven Tabarangao.

Currently, Autoitalia has dealers located in Tagaytay, Cavite, Pampanga, Dumaguete, Cebu, Bohol, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga – with plans to open in more locations nationwide.