Geely may expand presence in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The local distributor of Geely vehicles may further expand its network in the country as it targets to achieve five-digit unit sales this year.

“We are facing the new year with a greater outlook not only for Geely, but also for the country’s whole car industry given the significant improvement in the overall industry sales in 2022,”Sojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP) Corp. president and CEO Yugo Kiyofuji said in a statement.

“As we target to sell five-digits this year, we remain focused to further expand our network, especially on growth areas. This is also an exciting time for Geely as we aim to introduce more models that will continue to change the game in its respective segments,” he said.

The company reported that it registered a 52-percent sales growth in 2022 with 9,302 units.

“Geely’s overall sales performance in 2022 has definitely benefited from the popularity and increased demand for bigger vehicles last year wherein more buyers shifted to SUVs and MPVs,” Kiyofuji said.

The company said the Coolray remained to be the top-selling model in the Geely lineup with 4,370 units sold which accounts for 36-percent increase year-on-year.

This was followed by the Okavango with 3,041 units, a 19 percent increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, the Emgrand, which was launched last year, registered sales of 1,458 units.

SGAP said the Azkarra model sold a total of 433, a 35 percent increase from the previous year.

In October, Geely Philippines opened its first in-line store in the country in SM City Taytay, as part of efforts to bring the brand closer to buyers.

“The opening of our first in-line store in SM City Taytay is a realization of our goal to give our customers a more convenient access to our vehicles. This is a step in going beyond the usual dealerships that we currently have,”Kiyofuji said.

Kiyofuji said that aside from improving the quality of dealers to satisfy the customers, Geely continues to explore other possibilities in making sure that the brand continues to cope and adapt to customers’ needs.

“With the current 34 Geely dealerships operating nationwide, customers have yet to see more facilities to open soon as Geely Philippines has set its eyes to achieve more than 40 dealer outlets soon,” SGAP said earlier.

In September, SGAP opened Geely Bataan in Balanga City, its 34th outlet in the country.