The mission of the country's auto parts industry is to strengthen the position of the Philippines as a significant automotive player in the region by developing an internationally competitive and viable automotive parts industry. It also wants to enhance value-added and local capabilities in automotive parts players through improved processes, technology and human capital.

Informa Markets, a leading organizer of specialist markets platform, hopes to be a key enabler and recently announced that the Auto Parts and Vehicle Expo 2024 will be held at the World Trade Center Manila from 5 to 7 June this year.

The three-day APVE2024 aims to bring together 4,000 potential buyers and sellers from across the region to create a platform for international and regional suppliers in the automotive parts and accessories and maintenance equipment and tools market to showcase their latest technology and equipment. The event will also serve as a forum for discussions about best practices and solutions to enhance operational efficiency and profits for businesses in the consumer and commercial automotive industry.

"Explore new partnerships through networking opportunities, discover the latest trends and development, and find cutting edge products and solutions during the three-day APVE2024," said Rungphech Chitanuwat, Informa Markets GM in the Philippines, who added that the event will be the largest since the expo not only intends to invite players in the automotive sector but also those in mining, construction, logistics, transportation and agriculture.

One encouraging news that the APVE2024 is banking on is a recent Nikkei Asia report that quoted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during last December's ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit. Kishida said he would like "to ensure that ASEAN's automotive industry remains a central production and export hub in the world in the face of intensifying international competition for next-generation vehicles."

The same report acknowledged the relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia in the automotive industry that spans more than five decades, with Japanese automakers maintaining production bases in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.

Seize the opportunity

As the industry transitions to new, cleaner technologies, Neil Stephen Lopez, assistant executive director of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, said that a number of ASEAN countries are seizing the opportunity (Indonesia, for one, is taking advantage of its mineral deposits which are critical for manufacturing EV batteries) and he hopes the Philippines would do a similar action.