汽車產業是發展中國家產業政治經濟研究重要討論個案，作為新興發展的區域，東南亞國家亦想透過汽車產業引導國內工業發展，然而依據不同的發展途徑與政經背景，出現不同的成果。東南亞國家中，不論是泰國私部門主導、或是馬來西亞國家主導，都是屬於發展中國國家發展汽車產業「較為成功」經驗。菲律賓汽車產業發展相當特殊。五○年代菲律賓曾經是亞洲工業與經濟大國，理應有良好的內需市場作為產業的支撐力道作為發展汽車產業的基礎。然而根據統計，新車産量與銷售量僅是二十年前泰國的水準。當內需市場不振缺乏外銷能力，使菲律賓汽車產業發展緩慢；長期以來中古車的銷售數量多為新車的兩倍以上，導致日系等海外車廠對菲律賓設廠投資更是裹足不前。本文主要是以政治經濟途徑分析菲律賓汽車產業失靈的原因。本文認為：長期的進口替代策略加上轉型限制，使得在1980年代菲律賓比其他的東協國家在經濟表現與工業化落後；工業不振可以歸因為長期實施的「進口替代」並未如同其他東亞國家轉型為「出口導向」，失去成長的動能。政治經濟因素是菲律賓汽車產業失靈的主要原因。

The automotive industry is considered as one of the important drivers for developing countries in the area of political economy. As Southeast Asia emerged as a new area for development, countries within the region mark its way in developing its industry each having varying experiences. The Thailand Automotive Industry and the Malaysian Automotive Industry experience can be hailed for the success story. However, the Philippines, once cited for its robust growth during the 1950s has a different story. Statistics showed that a recent sale of new cars is comparable only to Thailand's figure 20 years ago. The sales volume of old cars is twice as much as the new cars resulting to a stagnant operation for Japanese and other MNC. This paper narrates the failure of the Philippine Automotive Industry in the context of political economy. This paper argues that long-term ISI (Import Substitution) strategy coupled with restrictions, are detrimental to the economic performance of the Philippines. Likewise, political and economic factors are the main reasons for the failure of the Philippine automotive industry.