Mitsubishi Motors is about to do something no other legacy automaker has in the Philippines: build electrified vehicles on local soil. The company told President Marcos Jr. on April 6, 2026 that, pending government approval, it will start producing a new hybrid electric vehicle at its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant around the middle of 2028. Reporting puts the investment at about US$116 million, raising the plant’s capacity by roughly 20 percent to around 60,000 units a year. If it goes through, this becomes the first locally assembled HEV in the country, and a bet that the Philippine auto industry can be a real EV production base, not just a showroom.
What Mitsubishi is actually planning
The plan is tied to the government’s Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS), the incentive program under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) would build a “new hybrid EV model” at its existing Laguna facility, with production targeted for mid-2028 and capacity reported at roughly 50,000 to 60,000 units a year after the expansion. The meeting at Malacañang included MMPC and Mitsubishi Motors executives alongside President Marcos, Finance Secretary Frederick Go, and Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, a signal of how seriously both sides are taking it.
Why hybrids, and why now
Mitsubishi is leading with a hybrid rather than a full battery-electric car for a reason the local market makes obvious. Of the EVs sold in the first two months of 2026, 4,551 units, or nearly 80 percent, were hybrid models. Filipino buyers are adopting electrification through hybrids first, where range anxiety and charging gaps matter less. Building the HEV locally also lets Mitsubishi capture EVIS incentives while serving the segment Filipinos are actually buying.
The bigger picture: a production base, not a importer
For the Philippines, the move is a test of whether the country can be more than a destination for imported cars. A working local HEV line means jobs, supplier development, and a stronger case for the next step, full EV assembly. It also reframes the “first Filipino EV” conversation: while startups like Francisco Motors pitch homegrown EVs, a legacy giant is choosing the Philippines as a place to actually manufacture them. The two paths, startup ambition and established-player scale, may end up pushing the same goal forward.
Based on Mitsubishi Motors Philippines’ official announcement (April 6, 2026), Inquirer/Cebu Daily News, and Just Auto. Production is contingent on approval of Mitsubishi’s EVIS application; the specific model and final specs are not yet disclosed.
