Bermaz Auto Philippines (BAP), the exclusive distributor of Mazda vehicles in the Philippines joins the lead of other carmakers in announcing new SRPs that take into account the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law.

Just like other subcompact offerings, the Mazda2 sees an increase anywhere between 4 to 7 percent. The base model Mazda2 1.5 S 4DR gets hit the hardest with a P 54,000 increase (now at P 849,000) while the Premium Series goes up the least at P 3.71 percent (P 1,015,000).

However, since there are limited stocks of the Mazda2 that cleared before January 1, 2018, BAP is still offering pre-TRAIN units until supplies last.

Furthermore, BAP is making its 3-year all-inclusive PMS program optional on the Mazda2. Customers who need extra financing support can forego the free PMS program in order to get a lower downpayment. That said, all Mazda2 models will still offer a 3-year warranty as well as 24/7 emergency roadside assistance on all Mazda2 units.

A segment up, the Mazda3 also goes up in price, but the range of price increase is far larger than in the subcompact segment. The 1.5-liter variants are up 6 percent with the 1.5 V 4DR ending up at P 1,058,000 and the 1.5 V 5DR at P 1,078,000. The 2.0-liter variants (except for the Mazda3 Speed) see a very small 2 percent increase (plus P 22,000). It’s the Mazda3 Speed goes up the most at 6.5 percent to P 1,490,000.

In the same price bracket, Mazda’s “dynamic freestyle crossover”, the CX-3 also sees increases for 2018. Though the base 2.0 Pro remains almost unchanged at P 1,290,000 (less than 1 percent increase), the other variants such as the Sport and Activ see an 8 to 9 percent increase (the Activ AWD model is now quite expensive at P 1,600,000).

Like the Mazda2, there are pre-TRAIN Mazda3 and CX-3 units available in limited quantities, and these can be had at the 2017 prices.

Other vehicles in the “deadly” P 1,400,000 to P 2,000,000 bracket such as the Mazda6 and MX-5 also see increases. The Mazda6 is heavily penalized under TRAIN with increases ranging from 8 to 12 percent, although the MX-5 seems to have weathered the excise tax storm pretty well, increasing just 1 to 4 percent.

Although prices are supposed to come down on pickup trucks (pickup trucks are exempted from excise tax), the BT-50 retains its price for now since these units arrived before January 1, 2018. However, to make the BT-50 more competitive against other pickup trucks that have gone down in price, Mazda Philippines is offering rebates and discounts at the dealer level.

The CX-9 also retains its price for 2018.

The most interesting case is with the Mazda CX-5 since supply has already shifted from Japan to Malaysia this 2018. This move, done to supposedly offset the effect of the excise tax with lower import duties has ended up with mixed results. The only model to remain protected against the effect of the excise tax is the top-of-the-line 2.2 AWD Sport D which retains its price at P 2,200,000. However, both gasoline variants—the 2.5 AWD Sport and 2.0 2WD Pro have gone up because the cost increase (forex, etc.) and excise tax increase couldn’t offset the reduction in Japanese import tariffs. The 2.0 Pro is up by P 100,000 (6.45 percent) while the 2.5 AWD Sport is up P 55,000 (2.90 percent).

A small fine print also indicates that although prices of Mazda’s premium colors—Machine Gray and Soul Red still commands a P 16,800 premium, the Soul Red Crystal (currently exclusive on the CX-5) now sets you back P 22,400.

Compared to our predictions last December, we were just within 5 percent of the predicted prices for Mazda. Our biggest variance is with the Mazda3 2.0 Speed (5.44 percent), while others such as the CX-5 Pro 2WD is just at P 2.37 percent, while the MX-5 RF with Nappa Leather at just a 0.47 percent.