With the fast-paced growth of Cebu’s local economy, an international bus and truck manufacturer has seen so much growth potential for the truck business in the area that they decided to expand their operation here this year.
MAN trucks and buses from Germany are high-end trucks that have been in the business for 250 years already having been listed among the first in the German decks.
“Globally, everybody knows that we are not the cheapest product in the market and that we cater to the top segment. With our latest high technology standard, we are considered to be on the tip of the pyramid,” explained MAN Truck and Bus Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. head of marketing Martin Sommer regarding the positioning of their brand in the global marketplace.
Here in the country, MAN trucks and buses from Germany are being exclusively distributed, imported and assembled by MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation (MACC). It is a closed family-owned corporation that operates with sister companies such as: Pacific Timber Export Corporation (PATECO), a timber producer and wood products manufacturer; Diapitan Resources Development Corporation (DRDC), a black tiger prawns grower and exporter and Underwood Development Corporation (UDC), an industrial real estate developer.
As an established brand, the company is now eyeing to penetrate the Visayan and the southern market starting with Cebu City.
“Here in the Visayas, our product lines are not yet distributed and sold so we want to aggressively enter the southern part of the country and push the market as much as possible. And we are confident that our market will grow here in the South,” Sommer announced.
Recently the MAN TGA Truck has been launched at the CICC together with a turnover ceremony to their first buyer.
“We believe in the foresight of our customers and their assessment of the local economy here so we are putting ourselves together to be able to increase the population of MAN trucks in the area,” said MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corp. Managing Director Fernando A. Lu.
Lu also added that they are seeing a huge demand for MAN trucks in Cebu’s market – Rhia de Pablo