TOYOTA, LEXUS REAP TOP AFPCA HONORS

THE TOYOTA Fortuner, after a down-the-wire scoring battle with the surging Isuzu MUX, eked out a close win and was proclaimed Automobile of Year – Standard Category during the awards night of the 2016-2017 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards (AFPCA) held Friday evening, October 13, at the Valle Verde Country Club Ballroom. On the other hand, the Lexus RX350 comfortably romped off as the Automobile of the Year – Luxury category winner for the first time and thus lived up to its current ranking as the leading luxury compact SUV in the market as of September this year.

By also capturing the Midsize SUV of the Year award for the third straight year along with earlier wins in 2006 and 2007, the Fortuner entered the prestigious AFPCA Hall of Fame as a five- time Model of the Year winner thereby helping cement its billing as the top-selling SUV in the market today. It topped the Standard category with 3,601.2 points consolidated from sales of 16,774 units and 308 public votes. The RX350, the best- selling model in the local Lexus stable also took Luxury Compact SUV of the Year honors for the third time. It top-scored the luxury model roster with 842.4 points from sales of 149 units and a vote count of 993.

NEW VOTING RULES

The AFPCA, organized and undertaken by Sunshine Television and Marketing Services, Inc. ( STV) since 2005, is an annual public poll that aims to determine the country’s most popular automobile brands and models. This year, it features a unique scoring system that attributes 80-percent value to public votes from the April 1–September 30 poll and 20 percent to unit sales.

“We made some adjustments this year as far as finding out exactly how to compute votes. It used to be a value of 80 percent for sales and 20 percent for votes. We turned it around and made it 80 percent for votes and 20 percent for sales. The reason behind this is to give more value to the aspirations of the public. Not everyone can afford to buy a car, but a lot of people still have their preferences whether they can afford it or not,” STV chairman and CEO Ray Butch

Stradcom Corporation furnished official sales volume data for the AFPCA with the official sanction of the Land Transportation Office (LTO). The data covered only “completely built” and “new, imported”

units that were put in for new registration with the LTO from Jan. to Sept. 2016. So-called grey market and used vehicles were excluded. The AFPCA scoring methodology yields Model of the Year awardees in 11 classifications and the Automobile of the Year in separate Standard and Luxury categories from over 140 models in the Official Entry List.

Well- known brands take home the win

The Toyota Vios, still the industry’s top-selling model with close to 25,000 units sold year- to- date, again drew a bye in this year’s contest by virtue of its 2015 elevation to the AFPCA Hall of Fame as the first and only three-time winner of “Automobile of the Year” honors in the Standard Category. Aside from the Fortuner (Midsize SUV), Toyota also locked- up three other Standard Model of the Year titles: Innova (Multi-purpose Vehicle – MPV), Hi-Ace (Van), and Hilux (Pick-up).

“We are thrilled to see Toyota take home several honors during the 2016 Auto Focus People’s Choice (AFPC) awards. I am especially proud that the all-new Fortuner, in which we launched earlier this year, has become the 2016 AFPC Automobile of the Year as voted by the Filipino people. This is the second year in a row wherein this popular Toyota SUV won such an award,” said Toyota Motor Philippines president Satoru Suzuki.

Honda snatched three wins: City ( Subcompact), Civic (Compact Sedan), and Accord (Midsize Sedan). It also went home with two awards via the Legend (Large Sedan) and Odyssey (Van). Honda Cars Philippines president and GM Toshio Kuwahara thanked the public for choosing the brand.

“On behalf of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc., we would like to humbly express our deepest appreciation to the Filipino people for bringing us five Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards for Honda models: City, Civic, Accord, Odyssey and Legend. These awards prove the public’s continued appreciation for the Honda brand. They also reinforce Honda’s commitment to relentlessly deliver high quality vehicle, with top-notch features to satisfy the needs of the market,” said Kuwahara.

The RX350 (Compact SUV) led six other Lexus models into the winners’ circle for Luxury Models of the Year: ES350 (Midsize Sedan), RCF ( Sports Car), IS350 ( MPV), GS460 (Midsize SUV), LX570 ( Large SUV), and NX200t ( Open). Lexus Manila president Daniel Isla thanked Ray Butch Gamboa and the

Auto Focus team for creating opportunities to make Lexus better known and appreciated by the public.

“The support of the voting public encourages us in our continuous pursuit of excellence. We know that more than selling beautiful and dependable cars, we have to ensure that we are able to respond to our customers’ expectations on after- sales service,” Isla said.

Still in the Standard Category, one award each went to the Ford EcoSport (Compact SUV), Jeep Wrangler (Large SUV), Mazda MX-5 ( Sports Car), and Nissan Juke (Open). Mercedes Benz bagged two titles in the Luxury Category with the A-Class (Subcompact) and the B-Class (MPV).

Auto Nation Group, Inc. president Felix Ang said, “We appreciate these recognitions that further reiterate our brands’ commitment to offer nothing but the best in the luxury segment. Mercedes-Benz has always been synonymous with luxury vehicles that have outstanding style, performance, and safety features. Meanwhile, Jeep easily stands out when it comes to conquering the toughest roads and terrains. Thanks to our friends from the media and everyone who voted for our cars on the poll conducted by Auto Focus.”

The awards night was graced by top officials of the country’s car manufacturers and distributors, the auto industry’s two lead organizations, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), as well as motoring media professionals.

In his post-awards remarks, Gamboa exclaimed, “I would like to thank, first and most of all, those who voted in the AFPCA and AFMCA polls along with the car manufacturers and distributors who opened their lineups of brands and models to public and media scrutiny. The Auto Focus People’s and Media’s Choice Awards are not just recognition programs to inform car owners and car buyers, but to also provide them a channel of communication through which their voice and preferences may be openly expressed and heard by industry players. From such feedback, better products and services can continuously be offered.”

Gamboa added, “I would like to congratulate the awardees of this year ’ s editions of the AFPCA and AFMCA. I would also like to ensure all stakeholders that these programs will constantly evolve in line with new industry developments and public interests. For next year, we are already looking at how the concurrent model classifications might be aligned more rationally given that vehicles with multi-purpose and crossover features are already in the market. As far as the poll itself is concerned, further simplification and convenience of the voting process will be explored, and ways of bringing this process to public venues will be sought. We will update and upgrade as necessary for the benefit of all concerned.”