Chery blossom

Chery, one of the pioneering Chinese car brands that entered the Philippine market over a decade ago is making a comeback.

United Asia Automotive Group Inc., the country’s exclusive distributor and local assembler of Foton vehicles took on the challenge to bring in China’s biggest passenger car export brand back to the Philippines and for good reason.

“Today, as you can see, it is a manifestation of stronger trade relations, not only for UAAGI and Chery, but also for the Philippines and China. For the past three to four years with the trading relationship between China and the Philippines has improved greatly President Duterte has been here for three times already in China and things are getting more positive, so today is a momentous occasion,” said UAAGI President Rommel Sytin. “We are equally excited about this partnership between UAAGI and Chery and invited some of our dear friends in the industry as witnesss,”

It will be, in fact, the fourth time China’s biggest passenger vehicle exporter will reenter the market.
Both Chery and UAAGi are going all out in this new tieup,
They flew several members of the motoring media and some bank executives to Wuhu, China to witness the partnership agreement signing ceremony and conducted a plant tour, plus a test drive in Chery Wuhu plant’s proving grounds. Having seen numerous plants in several countries, the Chery manufacturing plant is not only expansive, but very well sorted out. Located in Wuhu’s manufacturing district, it is one of six plants in China that Chery produces its vehicles.

The test drive activity was just as surprising, the participants got to test several models, including two Tiggo crossover models and the premium Exceed SUV nameplates. The NVH (noise vibration harshness) levels were very impressive, so was its handling, acceleration and braking. The test track had several patches of rough road terrain in various textures and simulated road imperfections. The Tiggo models this writer tested handled very well and the ride quality is comparable to its Japanese and Korean counterparts. Build quality and fit and finish can be considered excellent as well.

“What we can promise with our partnership is, we will talk less, but we will do more action. And we are expecting and hoping that Chery will learn the lesson of what happened before, and we should do this methodically. As Mr. Zhang said, we have to focus on our customers. Whether previous or future customers, that’s what our focus will be. We call it the “PPP” strategy, which stands for – People, Place and Product,” said Sytin. “For people, we should excel internally and for focus externally on our customers. And the place, I mean our showrooms, our dealerships. We should prepare all our showrooms and dealerships so that our buyers have a great customer experience. And lastly, of course, is our product. That would decide on our future. We need great products to make it well in our market,”

When asked why Chery chose UAAGI as its new local partner, Mr. Zhang Guibing, President of Chery International, he said – “We chose UAAGI because they have a good track record for customer service and in our search for a new partner, we went to the Philippines ten times to meet and discuss with many potential partners. In the past, we made a mistake in choosing, but after one year of search, I think we found the right partner with a good foundation.”

With seemingly great products, and a good local partner with a great track record in introducing Chinese made vehicles in the market, Chery stands a good chance in successfully penetrating the local automotive market that is skeptical about brands coming from China. Indeed, we are about to see the emergence of a new generation of good quality and affordable vehicles coming from the next automotive superpower.