Highs–and lows–of the 2015 MIAS

All right, the motoring industry and netizens have all been  abuzz lately about how successful the recently concluded 2015 edition of the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) has been.

In its 11th year, no doubt one of the country’s most anticipated auto shows has earned its “street cred,” so to speak, among those in the know. Paired with an electric atmosphere generated by a vibrant economy pushing the industry to a new, golden age of motorization unprecedented in the annals of local motoring history, MIAS 2015 was a sure-fire blockbuster just waiting to happen.

And happen it did for four days last week at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM). Visitors from near and far came in record numbers to witness vehicles and auto technologies from around the world in their best light. By the end of the final hour of the final day, as the proverbial curtains went down on this year’s edition of MIAS, everyone called it a resounding success (perhaps a tough act to follow for MIAS 2016?).

But then, nothing’s perfect. Here, Inquirer Motoring shares the highs and lows of MIAS 2015, as seen and experienced by some of the visitors.

High: Interactivity

Lawyer Robby Consunji, Car Awards Group Inc. president, noted that “the MIAS is a proven means for the car industry stakeholders (manufacturers, dealers, accessories, suppliers, services motoring media, etc.) to communicate to the motoring consumer, to introduce a new product or service, or close a sale.”

He added: “For the motoring consumer, the MIAS is a convenient venue to view the inventory from around 20 showrooms without having to do 20 trips through traffic.”

Veteran Malaysian auto journalist Yamin Vong (editor of Malaysia’s Cars, Bikes, Trucks of the New Sunday Times), who came to Manila to cover MIAS, observed that the show was “energetic and well attended.”

“I was impressed by the enthusiasm of Filipinos,” he quipped.

MIAS visitor and potential car buyer Kristina Relampagos said that the show was “complete—from new releases, accessories, customizing shops and vintage cars.”

Low: Parking woes

In this regard, parking issues aren’t something new for WTCMM. For years, finding that sweet spot around the venue has been a struggle. Even when the quite-spacious parking lot in front of WTCMM was available, visitors had to contend with others for crossing the tricky Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia), what with impatient public utility drivers refusing to even slow down for crossing pedestrians and the absence of pedestrian lanes.

But now that even that lot has been closed to give way to a construction project, visitors to 2015 MIAS have spent an extended (read: frustrating) amount of time finding a safe, secure spot for their own rides. Talk about ironies: a car show short on parking lots.

Many visitors were directed to the parking lots at the nearly deserted Philippine Trade Training Center/Citem adjacent to WTCMM. The place was not short on guards, but made for a long, tedious walk to the exhibit grounds (great exercise, but torture on anyone’s deodorant especially when done under the scorching summer sun). It was nice that free shuttle services were deployed by the MIAS organizers (this author was able to ride in one of the Nissan Urvan vans bearing the MIAS shuttle service poster).
A social media comment on the issue of MIAS parking stated: “I had to take a cab to avoid the parking issues. Oh, and thanks to the senior citizen whom I assisted. If not for him, I’d be waiting in that long line to get inside. Is SMX not big enough? Parking there is good.”

A MIAS organizer replied: “When we heard that property (fronting WTCMM) is now for lease and there were a lot of excavations in the area and will be closed to the public, we made sure the guards point our visitors to… free parking and shuttle services at the Citem area and the additional parking that opened on the open lot across CW Home Depot (Diokno Boulevard corner Jalandoni Street), which helped provide the much-needed parking space. Visitors this year appreciated the more efficient shuttle service, and thanks in part to BYD who provided two e-vehicles to augment our fleet of shuttle vans.”

High: VW’s Child Safety

The German brand Volkswagen’s sprawling two-level white booth at MIAS was named the best in the exhibit, and for good reason. Sure, Volkswagen Philippines put its best vehicles forward like everyone else (making visitors giddy with excitement with its Golf GTI, Polo Hatchback, Touareg Sport Edition, accessorized Beetle, Tiguan and Touran, and the new Polo sedan on full display).
But what set Das Auto apart was its Child Safety Initiative campaign embodied in its child safety corner—all 50 sqm devoted to a junior driving course and child seat corner.
The booth also enlightened visitors on how child seats could greatly decrease the chances of serious injury or fatality for younger passengers. Five VW push cars from Germany were made available for kids to ride along a simulated road network to get them started on the basic rules of road safety.

High: Record turnout

On Monday, MIAS organizers announced in social media that the motor show set a new record of 110,000 visitors, up by about 8 percent from last year’s 102,000. But then, we have to ask, is that record turnout satisfying enough, given that April 9, MIAS’ opening day, was a nonworking holiday (and effectively making it three nonworking days out of a four-day event—surely all the chances for the public to go out with their families and visit)?

“We are thankful for the fact that we increased by about 8 percent in foot traffic. Yes, the first day, which was a holiday, was a big turnout, but we have yet to audit the hourly and daily ticket counts to get a more detailed trending,” the organizer said in a statement sent to Inquirer Motoring.

High: Hybrid EV car debut

The BYD brand from China clearly blindsided the industry when it unveiled a “shocker,” a plug-in hybrid sports saloon that goes by the name Qin (pronounced “Chin”). Yes, do focus on the words “hybrid sports,” because on paper, it sure reads like it: 0-100 kph in 5.9 seconds; fuel consumption of 50 kilometers per liter; EV range of 70 km and max speed of 150 kph (in pure EV mode), and 300 horses tucked into its compact hood, all that power harnessed by just plugging the unit in a regular 220-volt outlet. Charging the car for eight hours costs a measly P100.

Low and high: Missing brands, new exhibitors

In the 2014 edition of MIAS, there were 28 auto brands and  nine launches. This year, there were only 22 brands, but 33 new model launches/public debuts/sneak previews. Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Rolls-Royce, Volvo, Hyundai, Dodge and Chrysler were noticeably absent. Although Jeep was present this year, the other CATS Motors brands weren’t.

The MIAS organizer replied that “Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Peugeot, Hyundai, Volvo and the other CATS-represented brands which were not present were car brands under companies or groups who were present in the 2015 MIAS, but chose to focus their display on other brands in their respective groups. WTCMM’s main hall has only about 10,000 sqm  if you include the lobby. Some of the brands present this year have significantly upsized. Therefore, there was no more space for these brands anyway. We plan to address this by rationalizing and improving further the cuts and sizes next year to accommodate more brands for the main hall.”

The statement also said that Jaguar and Land Rover did have an official display this year. “Both have units displayed under Epcalm Foundation and Top Gear Magazine booths, respectively. Our theme this year was based on outdoor mobility, so I assume that was why CATS chose Jeep to represent them this year. The Toyota display was under the Rota Wheels brand, which was its partner for the Vios Cup. That was why Rota Wheels was inside the main hall. This year, we wanted to fully utilize the main hall to concentrate on the automotive brands as a priority and zone the aftermarket brands to the East Wing Annex tent building.”

Vong said it aptly: “It was a great show not by the new models, but the vitality of the Philippine economy and the enthusiasm of the visitors.”

High: “Fashionable” Mazda

The Mazda 2015 Collection, apart from occupying the biggest space in the main hall, treated visitors to a world-class fashion show. Inquirer Motoring learned from Mazda Philippines’ president and CEO Steven Tan that the Mazda Collection parallels the new Mazda Global Corporate Identity design standard, and follows the same design theme as the Geneva Auto Show held in March, the Bangkok Auto Show held a couple of weeks ago, and the New York Auto show held last week.

Low: No exclusive day for media/VIPs/PWDs

MIAS organizers should look into this more closely, especially if it intends the motor show to be more inclusive in future editions. Other international motor shows dedicate time exclusively for persons with disabilities (PWDs), media and VIPs.

Auto dealer Tey Sornet, who was at the MIAS on opening day, suggested: “I hope there would be time allotted for motoring media before MIAS opens to the public. I saw how media struggled to take pictures as visitors swamped the booths. Don’t you think it’s just normal for motor shows to have time for media?”