New Ford PHL head expects ‘challenges’
FORD Philippines on Aug. 1 received a new chief, who entered the company just as automobiles sold in the country are set to get higher taxes.
But Bertrand Lessard, a 41-year veteran at Ford and the new managing director of the car maker’s business in the Philippines, is unfazed. In a Sept. 19 presentation the official outlined some of the “challenges” he said he expects to face as head of Ford’s operations, among which are the capital region’s state of road networks, and the burgeoning vehicle sales in the country.
“I know we’re guilty of adding to the traffic [ jams] by selling more vehicles,” he admitted, but also remained optimistic that there will be a solution as he noted the infrastructure projects planned by government.
Mr. Lessard also said that the impending hike in vehicle taxes, expected to increase the price of most car models sold in the country, would definitely affect automobile sales in the next couple of years. He said deliveries will increase as the year comes to a close as consumers try to beat the Jan. 1, 2018 implementation of the higher taxes, and taper off in the first few months of next year, before picking up again as 2019 draws near as consumers anticipate the next round of tax increases (the planned hike in automotive taxes is expected to come in two phases, at the start of 2018 and 2019).
“I don’t mind this challenge to the [auto] market as long as the rules are the same for everybody,” Mr. Lessard said, at the same time cautioning that details of the tax scheme are yet to be finalized.
He added that it’s the manner by which cars are sold — a rethink of some financing programs and promotions, for example — that will change once the new tax scheme is implemented.
“We can also try and test some of the elements [I learned] from other markets, but we’ll also try something different,” Mr. Lessard said. —