AyAlA vows to offer better service
Story by Ronald de los Reyes
IA, with the global mantra: “The Power to Surpise,” has been known for its durability, reliability and after-sales service worldwide. Thus, it has been one of the strongest players in the global automotive industry.
KBack in the Philippines, however, the brand has been in a slump for three years now with even projected dismal market share of less than 1 percent by the end of 2018.
With this, AC Automotive, Ayala Corp.’s automobile business company operating under AC Industrials (ACI), will be taking on the reins and will officially relaunch the Kia brand in the Philippines on January 30, 2019. The company now owns a large fraction of the brand with its former distributor Columbian Autocar Corp. still keeping an insignificant part of it.
“Our aim is to stabilize the business, build the Kia brand emphasizing on the Ayala partnership together with reviving the interest in the brand and strengthening the dealer network and maximizing the current presence,” said Kia Philippines’s new president Manny Aligada during a recent media presentation held at Fairmont Hotel in Makati.
According to him, they intend to first stabilize the business by emphasizing the strength of the partnership of the Kia brand with Ayala Corp. It is also important for them to fortify their current dealership network and introduce more competitive financing bundles.
Second, they ought to boost their facilities to both the new global and Ayala brand standards, while further expanding their dealership network reach.
Third, they aspire to incorporate their digital capabilities to engage with customers and drive sales, while also introducing the next-generation platforms.
“Buyer behavior has evolved and is more directed to the digital world. We want to get involved with that,” Aligada added.
He also said that Kia currently has 37 dealerships and that they will be introducing new programs. The Kia Promise to Care program, for one, ramps up aftersales service quality, competence and parts availability to provide every customer an exceptional service experience. Marketing and promotional activities for the new models will, likewise, be heightened both in mainstream and new media.
It was also revealed during the media gathering that more exciting and competitively priced models will be rolled out, with three new models to be introduced in 2019. This would hopefully delight customers in all stages of the ownership and maintenance process.
Confident to reach 10,000 units in 2019
“WHy are we confident that we can bring this back and even exceed?” the head honcho stated when asked about the volume targeted next year.
It was to be remembered that they had a 4.1 percent market share in 2012 and a 10,010-unit output in 2015. Right before they suffered the decline of 7,304 units in 2016, and 5,186 units in 2017.
“The players that we had then [pertaining to the Kia Rio and Picanto, among others], if we offer them well, position them right, the game plan can work,” Aligada shared.
Kia Philippines is led by Arthur Tan as chairman and CEO, and Aligada as president. With the acquisition of Kia, AC Automotive now manages six brands, including Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, KTM motorcycles, and Maxus.