Seeing Stars!

For those who live in the North — say, Greenhills and beyond — you would have already noticed this little strip tease happening along EDSA, just next to the Ford dealership. You can’t miss it — it is three floors high. Everyday, just a little more is revealed, and although the end result is quite obvious, most healthy, red-blooded car lovers that pass by daily, still wait breathlessly for the final reveal.

If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, you either live in the south or you drive a crudely converted, imported van from Subic and obviously don’t really care much about cars. Or the industry. Either way, I’m lifting the lid on another one of Manila’s worst kept secrets: the arrival of the new Subaru dealership, which is due to be completed this month and open its doors on June 30.

Yep, its official. The motoring landscape is about to change. Again. And if the folks over at Motor Image have anything to do with it, they’d want that landscape to be rocky, hard and grueling — all the more reason to show off the capabilities of their all-wheel drive, rally proven Subaru line up.

Subaru has been here before, but never under a dedicated dealership. The brand used to share floor space with Opel and Chevrolet under the GM umbrella, but it was an exercise that somehow just left buyers lukewarm. You see, previously, the problem with owning a Subaru in Manila was that you would have to go through the GM Auto World service centers where owners complained that they were put on the lowest priority because they had purchased their lowest volume brand. This is as far away from what a true Subaru enthusiast would expect from the brand.

Traditionally, a Subaru buyer is a little different from your average, garden variety car consumer and needs to be handled accordingly. A Subaru owner needs a home where he feels special; a place where he is given undivided attention; a place that reflects the same brand values of his car. Or so the folks from Motor Image say, and they are willing to bet on it, too.

And they would know. Motor Image Enterprises introduced Subaru into Singapore more than ten years ago and has since set up offices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and now the Philippines. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), a group listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and engages in automotive, commercial, manufacturing, trading and property investment businesses.

Last March, I flew into Singapore to attend the launch of their $25-million regional hub in Toa Payoh. The building stands six storeys high and will service the entire region, including the Philippines. "It is a strategic location for us," said Glenn Tan, chief executive of Motor Image in a private conversation with The STAR. "With this new regional hub, we can service our customers far more effectively. And by being a central shipping point, we can reduce our costs because of the economies of scale. Most usable parts will still be carried by Motor Image Philippines, while the rest will be stocked in either Hong Kong or Singapore where they have 100% availability with an overnight service."

The three-storey facility on EDSA which is modeled after its regional headquarters in Toa Payoh, will be directly linked up to the hub via a state of the art communication system. "When a customer has his vehicle serviced with us and is in need of a particular part, our service adviser simply codes it into the centralized computer system and it is automatically dispatched. We are hard wired into the headquarters, which allows us to communicate freely." Nicky Mariano, the General Manager of Motor Image Philippines, continued.

The ultra modern facility in Singapore is the first of its kind in Asia, and features an off-road, multi-terrain testing track on the roof, complete with mini-waterfall. "Because 100% of Singapore’s roads are paved, we needed a venue to showcase the capabilities of the all-wheel drive system that Subaru is famous for having pioneered back in 1955 when a P-1 prototype passenger car was completed", Tan beamed proudly.

The impressive, 227,000 square foot facility also features a four wheel dynamometer; a theaterette; a dedicated new car delivery area; more high tech equipment to accommodate 70 service bays plus a brand new regional parts and accessories center, fully stocked for cars three years and below. There is also an exclusive are set up for Sti, the company’s performance arm, to work in cooperation with Prodrive UK to build Group N cars, that can be purchased by privateers and raced in an international rally series. Already there is keen interest and some orders are rumored to have been placed.

But Tan knows that the strength of the brand lies in its people, and it is here where he has invested heavily. Mariano himself knows a thing or two about Subaru, having spent many years as a high ranking executive with GM Philippines. Although he remains tight lipped about his plans, you get the feeling that he is able to draw on that experience, and more importantly, the mistakes that were made before and re focus his efforts. He has also attracted other top personalities from the industry to join him in his venture — a move which speaks volumes in itself.

Although there is no formal announcement, expect to see the best of the best from the country’s largest automotive players joining the growing team at Motor Image. It is a very encouraging sign of confidence when you see people swapping lucrative and very stable careers in rock solid companies to embark on a new challenge with a new company that has yet to prove itself locally. Watch this space.

You may wonder why Motor Image seems so interested in such a small market like the Philippines and why key people in the industry seem so keen on Motor Image. And I wouldn’t blame you. There needs to be incentive after all, otherwise they just join the list of those that pack up and leave when things get hairy. Despite the fact that we haven’t broken the 100,000 cars a year barrier yet, and that Subaru can only claim a 3.6% market share in its most saturated markets outside Japan, the Philippines appeal is mainly inspired by the fact that it enjoys the smallest gap between CKD and CBU (around 25%) versus 40-80% in countries like Thailand. With that in mind, Motor Image feels it can realistically target 200-300 cars a year locally.

Motor Image Philippines will kick off their operations here by offering the Subaru WRX and the Forester — both the turbo and the base model. They will later branch out to include the Outback, the Legacy and the highly anticipated Tribeca SUV — the only product to be sourced from the only other plant outside of Japan: Indianna, USA. Filipino buyers are also welcome to have their own Group N car built for them on a special order basis.

As we wrapped up our little chat, Glen Tan summed it up by saying, "These days, its not just about owning a car, but rather owning a car that reflects your lifestyle and personality. Catering to different customer needs, we will offer a range of models that will allow us to reach out to various market segments and give us the dynamic range that today’s customers demand"