WITH THE automotive industry booming in recent years and with 2015’s rumored industry sales projection to breach the 300,000 unit, the situation presents itself with a few problems. Admittedly, these are good problems to have. Nonetheless, these problems have need to be addressed to ensure the growth and stability of our industry.
One is the lack of service space for these vehicles. Many automotive dealerships are forced to introduce rather ingenious methods such as nighttime servicing, virtually turning dealership service centers into 24-hour operations.
Honda Cars Global City in BGC is a good example of this. Being near the Honda head office (also in BGC), it’s probably a test bed for many innovative ideas that HCPI can come up with.
Other dealerships have resorted to seven-day, 12-hour operations to cope with the volume of vehicles being serviced. The Toyota dealerships I frequent, Toyota Shaw and Toyota Pasig, were jam-packed with cars even during the 24th and 26th of December. I had asked my service advisor,
Jerry Yape, if they ever get time to rest, to which Jerry replied “barely,” but it’s what they do to help maintain Toyota’s No. 1 slot in the industry.
It’s good that these dealerships have taken the initiative to expand their operations, resulting in more cars serviced per time, but I’m sure it must be a strain somehow on the workforce.
Many dealerships have begun or are about to complete massive renovations to increase their service area. And despite often difficult and very low survivability figures, many independent service specialist shops have sprung up to cater to vehicle owners looking for a more personalized touch, specialists for their vehicles or simply looking for a better deal.
Many industry principals have stated that 2015 will be a year where they plan to open more dealerships and service centers throughout the country to allow them and their cars to be closer to their markets, and also to increase their overall service reach.
These are all good things but the need for more professional aftersales servicing remains high. Thankfully the industry is pulling its weight and collectively addressing this issue.
The other issue is ultimately the lack of fresh, new and young talent. Indeed, some of the best and brightest minds are in the automotive industry. But they don’t seem to be enough, such that the industry has been pirating top-level executives from other industries.
While this is good in bringing in fresh perspective, I fear that it still lacks one fundamental aspect of working in the car industry: the genuine love of cars. But it’s a short-term issue as it’s difficult not to fall in love with cars in general and the industry in particular—with lots of events, lots of travel and lots of very interesting people.
But my main point is that not a lot of fresh college graduates have a desire to work in the automotive industry.
I teach part-time at a leading business school in the country and my students always pester me to see what car I brought to school.
Sometimes they are disappointed that I only brought my Toyota Yaris, but sometimes they get a treat when I bring a Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Jaguar to the campus. All of them envy my job, to which I tell them that it pays next to nothing, and that which is why I have to do so many other things.
When I ask them about working in the car industry in general, these kids scoff at the idea.
Fresh grads often dream about working in a large financial institution, a multinational FMCG conglomerate or a property developer. The first thing that comes to mind for many of these kids I chat with, is that working in the car industry means becoming a sales agent.
Apparently there’s a snobbish stance against being a sales agent: They all claim they didn’t go through four years of college just to be sales agents.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being a sales agent for a first job. A number of these sales agents make serious money and live a very luxurious life, building a good network of contacts, and eventually entering into business on their own, thanks to the network they have created through their clients.
CATS Motor’s Felix Ang started as a car accessories salesman, so the legend goes, and now he’s the principal for Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, Chrysler and Harley Davidson! Or work hard and rise through the ranks of sales agents. Danny Isla, the president of Lexus Manila, started out as a sales executive at Toyota Alabang; many years of hard work later, he’s at a most enviable position as the celebrity rock-star boss of the country’s most vibrant Japanese luxury brand!
But I tell my students that the automotive industry is far more than a sales agent: Just like any other industry, there are product planners, engineers, technical experts, marketing executives, finance officers, and administrative and operations specialists And yet you’re surrounded by cars.
There’s a very good chance to get into a program to be able to work with and learn from the best abroad. My old friend and schoolmate Anika Salceda-Wycoco, a few years my junior, was formerly with Ford Philippines, and after a few years was assigned to the regional office in Bangkok, and quickly reassigned to the Detroit head office, thanks to lots and lots of hard work, and the ability to adapt and raise your game to a global, world-class level.
Yet many of my students still scoff at the idea of working in the industry. Many say they’d rather be driving than selling the cars they dream of. Which leads to another point. Art Balmadrid, the senior vice president of Isuzu Motors Philippines, says the automotive industry traditionally doesn’t offer a high salary for entry-level positions for fresh college graduates in general, unlike the banking/finance or FMCG industries that sometimes have very high starting pay. But in his own experience, there is no other industry as exciting and as enjoyable as the automotive industry, and now is the good time to be in it due to its highly dynamic nature, with the industry being on a bull run for the past few years.
And of course, the automotive industry inevitably offers a car plan, and has very good overall incentives and benefits that more than make up for a low(ish) base salary offer. Of course, climb the ranks and work hard, and you’ll be well paid—all the while working in an exciting industry.
We need fresh, new and young talents to enter the automotive industry. For parents reading this, encourage your kids to entertain the idea of working in the car industry even at a young age. It’s a very dynamic environment. For people looking at a career change, the car industry is just as tough as any, but in my mind, is far more rewarding and exciting.
I sincerely hope that the car companies, and organizations such as Campi and Avid, take note of this and launch a campaign to get more fresh, young and new talents into the automotive industry.
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