An MVP investment in the auto business

The shape of things to come? The MVP BMW Alabang dealership.

The Philippine auto industry is set to continue its blistering growth, with sales forecast to rise 25 to 30 percent in 2016 from the previous year. With that, business groups are finding the sector an attractive investment. Toyota Motor Philippines, part of George Ty’s Metrobank group, and Mitsubishi Motor Philippines have signified their interest in the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) assembly program. Ayala Automotive Group re-introduced the Volkswagen brand into the market and will be assembling and marketing KTM high-end performance motorcycles.

CARS, aka Executive order NO. 182, provides financial incentives of up to P9 billion for three participants who will each enroll a car model for local assembly. Each model must attain an output of 200,000 units over a six-year period. Toyota’s Vios and Mitsubishi’s Mirage are the first two units to join the program.

Now, there’s word that businessman Manny V. Pangilinan may be getting into the driver’s seat in auto-related ventures. BMW Alabang is now known as MVP BMW Alabang. MVP officially stands for Motor Ventures Philippines. The dealership’s company profile shows that it is headed by individuals who have worked with Pangilinan. Victorico Vargas is the chariman of Motor Ventures and is the Chief Transformation Officer of PLDT. Patrick Gregorio, its vice chairman, is senior vice president for commercial and marketing of Maynilad Water Services. Atty. Aristotle Batuhan, its president, is the counsel for Smart Communications Inc., as well as for Ayala Corp., Maynilad, and other multinational companies. It doesn’t take much connecting the dots to see that the MVP name in the dealership may not be a simple coincidence.

An investment by Pangilinan may signify part of a bigger play into the auto industry, possibly in partnership with the group of Jose “Pepito” Alvarez. Alvarez holds the BMW distributorship for the Philippines, and his group has assembled several brands of vehicles. Alvarez’s companies also distribute the Kia, Peugeot and Mahindra vehicles. With that third slot of the CARS program still available, it could be an interesting development.