Year of the CATS

Felix Ang delivering his speech during a well-attended party

Good fortune favors the bold, as they say. But to acquire and, more importantly to preserve it also requires a lot of hard work, perseverance and grit.
Our tale starts in year 1989, when CATS Group founder Felix R. Ang established Greenhills CATS, an acronym that stands for Car Accessories, Tires and Service center. It was to be the biggest car accessories and service center in the country, with a fully air-conditioned two-story showroom built in a 3,700-square-meter property along EDSA, Greenhills.

When Greenhills CATS opened, it was like a huge candy store for car enthusiasts, and it has become the premiere place to shop and customize and service their cars.

This EDSA showroom is just one of two Harley-Davidson of Manila boutiques in Metro Manila. The other one is located in Shangri-La BGC.

Back in the 1980s, most cars sold in the country were very basic, and lacked a number of features and accessories that we consider to be standard these days. This would mean, a number of brand new cars sold before did not come even with air-conditioning, stereo and some would even just have one side mirror on the driver’s door. This created an opportunity for Ang or “FRA” as he is fondly called by his team and also Felix the Cat by close friends, to invest and take a chance in opening CATS.

“I bought this property for a few thousand pesos per square meter in 1988 and bought the adjacent property after a few years. The first thing you invest in a business is land. And put up a business that can create your cash flow to pay off your property. In a matter of years, aside from the business you have put up, the growth in property value will increase your income and net worth exponentially,” Ang was quoted as saying a few years ago.

The early years of CATS

But it was easier said than done. Year 1989 was also when we all witnessed the bloodiest coup d’etat in recent history. So his business did not take off with a good and smooth start. But as a person who appreciates history, the world “crisis” in Chinese character is formed by two sub characters—“danger” and “opportunity”. He steered his company in a time where the very place his beloved CATS was situated became known as a place of military mutiny and unrest. FRA also said that in the 1990s, the car aftersales market business had stagnated because most car dealerships and manufacturers began to accessorize the cars that they sold.

The Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM showroom at the CATS complex along EDSA Greenhills.

It was during those years that he realized that he had to change his business model. From his one-stop-shop car accessories business, CATS received its appointment first as an authorized Mercedes-Benz workshop in 1991 and then became appointed as a dealer selling the world famous German tri-star brand. Eventually in 1995, the company became known as CATS Motors, Inc. signaling the beginning of its foray as a true premium car brand dealer. The financial crisis of the 1990s also became an opportunity for him to eventually acquire the distribution rights of Mercedes-Benz.

A rising (tri) star

In 1999, CATS became an authorized importer of completely built-up Mercedes-Benz units and it opened its Global City Dealership with the first “Autohaus concept” in Southeast Asia. By 2004, it was granted general distributorship of Mercedes-Benz passenger and commercial vehicles in the country. It was also the same year that CATS also acquired a Mazda dealership along EDSA, Greenhills just a few hundred meters away from its flagship EDSA, Greenhills office and Mercedes-Benz showroom.

Inside the Mercedes-Benz showroom of CATS Motors, Inc.

Thanks to its stellar performance in the market, as well as Ang’s relations with their brand principals, then called the Daimler Chrysler Group, CATS was granted general distributorship of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge (CJD) in 2005 with its first showroom at the EDSA, Greenhills compound. A year after, it opened its second CJD dealership in Makati.

CATS Group

In 2010, to address the growing dealership businesses, a large five-story building and service facility was constructed to service these brands and the group’s growing brand portfolio. After two years, it saw the completion of this facility and in 2013, the CATS Group added Harley-Davidson Manila to its list of growing four and two wheel premium brands.

This year marks the 28th year of solid partnership between the CATS Group and Mercedes-Benz. It continues to expand its network of dealer showrooms and continues to be the biggest purveyor of some of the finest vehicles and American motorcycles in the country. Also this year, the CATS Group has begun construction of a new Mercedes-Benz BGC showroom in a new location, promising state of the art technology that would allow its customers and visitors an immersive and sensorial experience with the brand. A total of four Mercedes-Benz showrooms located in EDSA Greenhills, BGC, Alabang and Cebu continue to serve its customers.

Auto Nation Group is the sole authorized distributor of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles, which include these fleet of buses that were recently turned-over to the Bonifacio Transport Group.

For the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands, its Alabang dealership will move to a bigger stand-alone location set to open in the first quarter of 2020. Aside from its Clark, Pampanga showroom that was opened in 2018, a new dealership is under construction in San Fernando, Pampanga that is due to open in the later part of next year.

The CATS Group also expanded its brand line up and invested in Jaguar Land Rover, with a new showroom that opened earlier last year. The group has also begun construction on a boutique showroom which will open in BGC soon.

For Harley-Davidson, through a joint venture with American Motorcycles, Inc. and the Laus Group, Harley-Davidson of Pampanga opened a new showroom in San Fernando this year.

A TOAST TO THE FUTURE OF THE CATS GROUP: Auto Nation Group COO Frankie Ang, President and Founder Felix Ang, and Chairman Greg Yu lead the celebratory toast at the 30th anniversary gala celebration of the CATS Group.

The son rises

The year 2019 was also the year that FRA’s son, Francis Jonathan C. Ang, turned 30 years old. Known as Frankie to his friends and family, the young Ang graduated as cum laude earning a degree in BS Management Engineering in the Ateneo de Manila University, one of the toughest if not the toughest course in the prestigious school. FRA would bring him along to the office in his younger years so Frankie would be exposed to the family business. After he graduated, he was given various responsibilities in finance, sales and marketing to prepare him for a leadership role in the company. Being mentored personally by his father, Frankie continues to receive guidance and has now taken a key role of COO.

Auto Nation Group Chairman Greg T. Yu

“Our vision is clear. We want to become the industry leader in the luxury segment, in customer experience, satisfaction and market share. We want to be the partner of choice of global luxury brands, to be recognized as a benchmark in the industry, and to be loved and admired by our customers and employees,” said the younger Ang.

He would always say he has big shoes to fill, but the elder Ang is confident that he has prepared his son well as he continues to steer CATS Group to greater heights.

Auto Nation Group COO Frankie C. Ang

CATS Group founder Felix Ang

The Mercedes-Benz showroom along EDSA Greenhills managed by CATS Motors, Inc.