Rene Nuñez, CATS Motors President with the CLA-Class, part of Mercedes-Benz’s New Generation Compact Cars lineup. Photo by Ardie Lopez.
MEET THE NEW BOSS OF CATS MOTORS, Rene Nuñez, who recently took over the post of its owner, Felix Ang, as president last May. Ang became the company’s chairman of the board. Previously, CATS Motors was the exclusive distributor of Mercedes-Benz and American auto brands Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. In 2014, the management formed Auto Nation Group, Inc. (ANG, Inc.) as a separate company to be the sole importer and distributor for the said German and American marques. The spin-off was made as a directive from Daimler Germany, makers of Mercedes-Benz to separate the functions of dealer and importer/distributor.
In the new set up, CATS Motors became a dealer for these brands, focusing on the retail aspect of the business, including after-sales service while ANG, Inc. would function as the distributor in the Philippine market. It would also supply and service the other two dealerships not owned by Ang. Currently, CATS has four dealerships –two for Mercedes-Benz (in Greenhills and BGC) and two for the Chrylser brands (Greenhills and Makati).
This was the first time the camera shy Nuñez had his interview as president of CATS Motors. He talked about how he got started to be enamored to the tri-star brand when he was a kid sitting in his uncle’s Mercedes-Benz. He traded his almost brand-new 1991 Mitsubishi Lancer for a 15 year-old two-door Mercedes-Benz 280CE just months after it was given to him by his parents after landing his first job. He now has several current model and highly collectible classic Mercedes-Benzes which he had acquired over the years.
“I’ve known Felix for the last 18 years because of common interest, which is cars, particularly Mercedes-Benz. Last year, he was asked by Daimler to spin off the retail functions from the distributorship because Daimler wanted to separate the retail and wholesale part of the business. Last year, he decided to talk to me and wanted me to buy into CATS Motors. As a lot of my friends know, my brand of choice was Mercedes-Benz. I have also been the president of Mercedes-Benz Club of the Philippines for at least five years. That basically broke the ice between me and Mr. Ang. Also, I was sort of wanting to try doing something I love so that’s how it came about. It is a great honor for me to be entrusted with a company Felix has built up for the last 25 years,” said Nuñez.
Nuñez was a successful entrepreneur from the gaming industry, but his passion for cars eventually gravitated him to the industry he truly loves. Because of his extensive experience in restoring and maintaining his car collection, as well as his mechanical engineering background, he is very hands on when it comes to the service aspect of the business. His vision for CATS is to continue to make sure Mercedes-Benz is well perceived in this country. Secondly, he wants to showcase models that are considered quite affordable, with the same build quality and craftsmanship expected in a Mercedes-Benz, referring to the new generation compact cars (NGCC). He also wanted to debunk the myth that the brand is just for the more mature 40- to 50-something market.
During the interview and photo shoot, he brought along two of his favorite classic Mercedes-Benzes, a 1969 280SL “Pagoda” sports car and a 1969 280SE cabriolet, which Nuñez said is one of the last handbuilt cars made by the brand. “I bought these cars several years ago at a premium but I’m fortunate that these cars have significantly increased in value.” He said.
Watch out for the full story in motioncars-Inquirer Motoring this coming Wednesday. A full-length video of the interview will be uploaded very soon on this webpage. The video will be part of the series called “Car Talk and Coffee” hosted by Inquirer Motoring’s Ardie Lopez.
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