Car industry comes together to help flood victims

MANILA, Philippines - It goes without saying. The devastation caused by the recent flooding incidents in both Metro Manila and Northern Luzon shocked the entire nation. The flooding incidents have caused destruction on a scale we’ve never witnessed before. However, while a lot of us had to go through the worst of situations, the desperation brought out the best in the rest of us – people from the automotive industry included. Over the past three weeks, we’ve been writing about how car manufacturers have helped those of us on the ground deliver relief goods to those in need. We’ve also been writing about how the same car manufacturers have been bending backwards by giving discounts and extending working hours just to accommodate motorists affected by the onslaught of the twin storms. Well, allow us just one more time to try to illustrate just how far the automotive industry is taking this bayanihan thing…

Last week, amidst vehicle and brand launches (or what passes as typical in many a motoring journalist’s life), we sat with Willy Tee Ten, president of Autohub Group, one of the country’s largest auto dealership conglomerates. Being the head of such a large automotive company, we figured he would be able to give us a macro perspective on the situation from the other side of the road, so to speak. He did. And how!

Tee Ten disclosed that Autohub has gone as far as to rent empty lots just to accommodate the influx of flood-affected vehicles – many from very desperate customers who need at least reassurance that their cars are on the road to recovery. Yes, despite the number of auto dealerships under the company, they lack space. That’s how many vehicles out there need attention. He also explained that while customers may have been hit by the storm, so were several of his personnel. As such, their manpower capabilities are severely affected. Consequently, their service capabilities are far from 100%. To address this problem, he has set up a special overtime rate for service personnel at Autohub, giving them incentives such as overtime pay, free overnight lodging and free meals just so the workforce stays competent enough to meet the continuously growing demand. Now imagine this problem multiplied several times over for the other auto dealerships as well – and I mean other dealerships apart from Autohub.

I asked Tee Ten how this all plays out in the greater scheme of things. “We have to bite the bullet. We are not making money with all that’s been happening. But what can we do? Our customers need our help, our expertise. We cannot turn our backs on them. At this point, a greater responsibility is calling to us. As a united auto industry, as Filipinos, we need to come together and help those in need. This is our way of giving out that help,” he said.

As you may have surmised, the car dealerships are at the forefront of this Herculean effort to get flood affected vehicles road worthy again. But even as I write this piece, the manufacturers are thinking up ways to address the situation from their end as well. We at The Philippine STAR have, in turn, devoted a huge chunk of this week’s Business Motoring pages to them. Over the next few pages, we’ll publish whatever news bulletins they have sent us post-Ondoy and post-Pepeng. We hope this little effort goes a long way in reassuring motorists out there of the kind of help they can get from concerned fellowmen in the auto industry in these trying times…