Low interest rates boost sales

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu-based quality car brand distributor, Genesis Motors Corporation, a member of PAMOCOR Group of Companies, expressed confidence of the strong car sales projection not only in Cebu, but also from other neighboring provinces, due to the attractive interest rates offered to car buyers.

In an interview with Franklyn O. Ong, Genesis Motor Corporation president, he said that the low interest rate environment pushed people to take advantage of the opportunity, thus accelerating the growth of brand new car purchases.

Genesis Motors Corporation, the exclusive distributor of American car brand—Chevrolet in Cebu and in the Visayas, noted a strong interest from the market of the newest and quality car model releases, specifically the recently launched pick-up called Colorado.

According to Ong, Cebu and the neighboring provinces such as Bohol and Negros Oriental, among others, is one of the strongest markets for pick-up cars, due to the frequent long drive requirement of the users.

Ong’s group of companies, which is also the exclusive distributor of other car brands, such as the luxury car Volvo, said just like the real estate boom fueled by the inviting interest rate, the car sales is also benefiting on this good opportunity.

He said almost all major banks are offering attractive packages for car loans thus boosting the market for car sales.

Early this year, Genesis Motor Corporation opened the 4,040 square meters Chevrolet Cebu dealership.

Ong expects that with the introduction of more Chevrolet models in the next few months, it will strengthen the Cebuano markets’ appetite to get the quality and newest car models introduced by quality car brands, like Chevrolet.

Ong said that the well-known Cebuano trait of being stingy hasn’t been a hindrance to their sales efforts and they bank on quality products and a strong brand.

In fact, he said prior to the formal launching of the Colorado, several have already lined up to place their orders.

The active market for car acquisition in the Philippines encouraged Chevrolet to project sales of at least 5,000 car units in the next two years.

“The Philippine market is promising. The brand is being received well by Filipinos,” said Martin Apfel, Chevrolet South East Asia president for operations in an earlier interview.

According to Apfel, despite the entry of different automobile brands in the Philippines, including those cheaper units from China and other Asian countries, the brand has performed fairly well in the last few years.

In 2010, Chevrolet Philippines, through its exclusive dealership agreement with the Covenant Car Company Inc., posted a whooping growth of 64 percent, although in the following year in 2011, the sales performance plunged to 37 percent due to general market weakening.

This year, however, the company is seeing a good performance towards the end of the year, while it is preparing to introduce more affordable, quality, and fuel efficient models, said Apfel.

He added that the company is preparing more price sensitive products that will meet the unique requirement of the Filipino market.

This year, however the company sees a turn-around of sales contribution from Cebu, and Southern Philippine market, while the brand is gaining popularity in terms of quality and fuel efficiency, including value for money advantages.

Based on the company’s independent survey in the Philippine market, Apfel revealed the level of satisfaction among Chevrolet car users increased significantly.

Although, the brand falls into the sophisticated line-up among automobile names in the world, it is now introducing affordable units such as its models in the compact car segment which prices hover within the P588,000.

Easily, the brand hopes to hit the 5,000 car unit sales within in a year or two. This year alone, the brand targets to sell at least 30 to 40 cars in the Cebu market.