2013 Special: Philippine auto industry driven to extremes
By Tessa R. Salazar December 24,2013
The Philippines might be a small market beside giants like China or the United States, but it still carries a big stick shift, if you get the drift. What the local automotive country lacks in numbers, it makes up for in the variety and creativity of its actors and players: auto enthusiasts, car lovers, motorsports experts both behind and out of the steering wheels, journalists, and yes, even the often harried motorist trying to make both ends (points A and B and beyond) meet despite the impossible traffic.
Everyday is an adventure for the Pinoy motorist, but there have been some days that stood out the most. Here are some of the more noteworthy events that may have made—or ruined—our days in 2013.
1)January starts with a bang. The busiest weeks of this month were the third and fourth. Nissan Motor Philippines Inc joined the subcompact race with the introduction of its all-new Almera; Toyota Motor Philippines unveiled its all-new RAV4 compact crossover, and CATS Motors launched the all-new Mercedes-Benz B-Class hatchback. Berjaya Auto Philippines started operations also this month as exclusive distributor of Mazda vehicles, spare parts, and accessories.
2)February is gung-ho for brands that go head-to-head with the big boys. Hyundai’s new Accent Hatch CRDi was launched. French brand Peugeot launched two new dealerships: Peugeot importer Eurobrand Distributors Inc opened on the 27th Peugeot Las Pinas and Cagayan de Oro.
3)March highlights the unveiling of global vehicles, and more. During the third week, motoring journalists got a sneak peek of the year that would be at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The new Vios and the Mitsubishi G4 Concept G4 sedan had their global unveiling. Also shown were the redesigned Ford Fiesta and the new Ford Ecosport crossover.
4)April witnesses the Manila International Auto Show, which previewed and launched new vehicles, new variants, technology additions, and upgrades from the high-end performance cars to bare-essential people’s cars, like the Ford Ranger, Ford Fiesta, Mazda6, all-new Subaru Forester, Peugeot diesel models and its RCZ. MINI Philippines also held the launch of MINI Paceman here.A MIAS highlight was the Mitsubishi Mirage GLS MT being named 2012-2013 Car of the Year Philippines by the Car Awards Group Inc. The Mazda BT-50 was named Truck of the Year. Newest in the category was the title Truck Of The Year Philippines, which was won by Mazda BT50 4X4 AT.
5)May is most active, with multiple brand unveilings, motorsports events and industry movements. It was this month when the launch of five-door, five seater luxury hatchback Volvo V40 took place.
It was during the first week of May when Ford Motor Company announced the appointment of Kay Hart as managing director of Ford Philippines. The appointment took effect June 1. Hart replaced Randy Krieger, who was appointed Ford Asean marketing and sales director.
Also on the first week, Filipino-Swiss racer Marlon Stockinger drove the Lotus F1 car in Manila, during the first-ever live action Formula One demo run in an event dubbed the “Manila Speed Show.” Stockinger made several scheduled passes around the block of SM Mall of Asia, much to the delight of the race fans and visitors eager to see the good-looking celebrity driver.
On May 8, the first Bentley Manila showroom opened, at the 2nd floor of the PGA Building on Edsa, and the first models on display were the flagship Mulsanne, Continental GT, Continental GT Speed and the Continental GTC.
Not all events turned out to be rosy. From May 4 to 12, Pinoy motorsports encountered its dark days when five iconic Filipino racers (Carlos Anton, Stefano Marcelo, Gaby dela Merced, Michelle Bumgarner, and Pia Boren), upon the invitation of businessman Paul Monozca, came to the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina intending to compete with world-class Nascar racers from 12 countries in what was supposedly the first Nascar race joined by professional Filipino racers. The racers ended up as mere tourists racing only against time, and themselves.
May 18 also witnessed PGA Cars’ launch of the third-generation, completely redeveloped Porsche Cayman. The new two-seater is, after the 911 Carrera and Boxster, the third sports car model line from Porsche to feature innovative lightweight body design.
The highly anticipated comeback of the Volkswagen brand to the Philippines was also announced this month, as the German carmaker formally signed the appointment of Automobile Central Enterprise Inc (ACEI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp, as its Philippine distributor on May 27 at Ritz Carlton Hotel in Hong Kong.
Columbian Autocar unveiled the all-new diesel-powered Carens compact MPV (7-seater multipurpose vehicle) on May 31 at the Bonifacio Global City.
Also on May 31, Lexus Manila introduced the all-new third-generation IS sport sedan in its Bonifacio Global City showroom.
6)The entry of more metal beasts in June caps the first half of 2013. Land Rover Philippines Inc launched the all-new Range Rover during the second week. The fourth-generation model of the iconic Range Rover line was unveiled at the Land Rover Activity Center in Bonifacio Global City.
In the second week, the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class set rubber on Philippines shores—the first time this nameplate would be available in the country. This model line—the 2013 Mercedes-Benz A250 Sport–was launched at the Republiq at Resorts World Manila.
Probably the most talked about new entry in the Philippines this year was British brand Rolls-Royce. It was on the 19th when Rolls-Royce announced the appointment of British Bespoke Automobiles Inc (an Autohub group) as its official importer-dealer for Manila.
British Bespoke Automobiles is importing the Phantom, Ghost and Wraith models.
On the 28th, Japanese brand Mazda, through its Philippine distributor Berjaya Automobiles Philippines, announced its support for Michele Bumgarner in her pursuit for glory in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. BAP CEO Steven Tan, Michele, and her father Lee surprised the motoring press when they broke the news in Makati City.
Also, that day, German ultraluxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz—represented in the Philippines by CATS Motors Inc—held its star-studded launch of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class at the Rockwell Tent in Makati City. The E 250 CDI Avantgarde and the E 300 AMG Sport (AMG Sports Package) were unveiled.
On the 29th, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines put big boys and small cars to the test at the parking grounds of the SM Mall of Asia, where the first of the Gymkhana competition series was held using the popular subcompact Mirage.
7)It’s a “moving” month of July. On the 10th, Toyota Motor Philippines launched the new Vios, Toyota’s best-selling passenger car with more than 100,000 units sold worldwide.
On July 18, Ford Philippines introduced the new, redesigned and tech upgraded subcompact Fiesta model at the BGC High Street.
On July 30, a first in the local automotive industry took place when Manila Electric Co (Meralco), the country’s biggest electric power distributor, inaugurated the first electric vehicle charging station within its own compound in Pasig City. Meralco chair Manuel V. Pangilinan officially became the first customer to charge his personal all-electric Tesla S sedan. The white four-door, recently imported into the country, proudly carried a rear plate stating “Zero Emissions.”
It was in the last week of July that the 11-member Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (representing 20 global brands) reported a 20-percent surge in sales of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) in the first half of 2013. Avid chair and president Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo (also the president and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc) revealed that from January to June this year, 7,524 LCV units were sold compared to 6,270 in the same period in 2012.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines also reported in July the total number of vehicles sold from January to June of 87,226 units was a 20-percent improvement from the 72,871 sold in the first half of 2012.
8) August shows who’s boss. Toyota Motor Philippines reasserts its supremacy in the auto industry when it held the biggest exclusive motor show Aug. 10-18 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. The week-long event showed the full product line-up of Toyota, with a sneak preview of upcoming models. Over 30 classic cars, the concept car FCV-R, and the full line-up of luxury brand Lexus were in full display.
9)The old Volks is back in September. Volkswagen marked its official comeback in the Philippines on the 28th. But with a caveat: It offered only the diesel-powered models Jetta 2.0 TDI, Touran 2.0 TDI, Tiguan 2.0 TDI and Touareg V6 TDI. This announcement stirred a long-dormant controversy involving manganese in gasoline fuels.
The formal re-entry of the Volkswagen brand in the Philippines was spiced up by a statement from Automobile Central Enterprise Inc., the official Philippine distributor of Volkswagen in the Philippines.
During a Sept. 23 roundtable discussion with members of the local automotive media, Acei declared that, for the time being, it would only bring in diesel-powered variants, as the entry of its gasoline-powered vehicles would be delayed due to the presence of manganese in gasoline sampled in the country.
On the 9th, Inquirer Business reported that the Philippine automotive sector continued to lag behind its peers in the Asean in terms of sales, despite posting an 18-percent sales growth at the end of July. It cited data from the Asean Automotive Federation showing Thailand selling the most number of motor vehicles at 839,053 units from January to July, followed by Indonesia with 714,400 units, and Malaysia with 381,919 units. The Philippines sold only 102,913 units.
10) October storms out a race. The highly anticipated Vios Cup 2013 was supposed to flag off on the 12th at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga with celebrities like Rhian Ramos, Phoem Baranda and Aljur Abrenica going wheel-to-wheel with motoring scribes, but the monsoon had other ideas. The Vios Cup was rescheduled to 2014.
On Oct. 10, Inquirer Business reported that vehicle sales grew by 18 percent to 131,381 units in the first nine months of the year, buoyed largely by increased consumer spending for both passenger and commercial vehicles. The article cited data from CAMPI and TMA showing that the increase was led by the 34-percent jump in the sales in the passenger car segment to 5,136 units from only 3,844 units a year ago.
11)The worst of Yolanda reveals the best in the industry. Days after supertyphoon Yolanda devastated central Visayas, Inquirer Motoring reported that Korean, American, Japanese and European carmakers had chipped in millions of pesos for the affected families.
Meanwhile, at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show, the future of the motoring industry looked less stormy. The Tokyo Big Sight showcased 76 vehicles that held their world premieres.
12)Does December save the best for last? Late newsbreakers seem to give a glimpse of an even rosier 2014 for the local auto industry. Nissan announced the impending unification of its operations in the Philippines. Motioncars’ Jason Ang reported that the new company, Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI), would begin formal operations in the first quarter of 2014. NPI will be a joint venture between Nissan Motors Limited of Japan, Universal Motors Corp (UMC) and Nissan Motor Philippines Inc (NMPI).
13) Inquirer Motoring reported that the Tata brand will arrive in the Philippines. In a few months, Filipino car buyers may be able to drive home a Tata-branded multipurpose vehicle, passenger van, subcompact passenger car or even a pickup truck. According to a report by Charles Buban, Tata Motors Ltd, India’s largest automobile company, has just appointed Pilipinas Taj Autogroup Inc. (TAJ) as its exclusive distributor here.
Tata gained worldwide fame (or notoriety) when it introduced in India some time back one of the world’s cheapest cars, the Tata Nano.
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