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Defying
rising fuel prices, increasing cost of raw materials and
the threat of recession, Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC),
manufacturer and distributor of Kia in the Philippines,
chalked up an impressive 75% sales growth for the first
half of 2008, the highest in the industry, and lay claim
to being the fastest-growing automotive brand in the
country today.
Figures
bared by CAC showed that Kia vehicle sales grew by 75%
from January to June based on comparative 2007 vs. 2008
figures culled from the latest Chamber of Automotive
Manufacturers of the Phils. Inc. (CAMPI) report. Kia
was followed by Nissan which posted a 60% growth and
General Motors at 36%, completing the top three. Hyundai
took the fourth spot with 33%, tailed by Mitsubishi at
22%, Isuzu 16%, Suzuki 13%, Ford 10%, Toyota 7% and
Mazda 2%.
CAC
president and chief operating officer Felix J. Mabilog
Jr. credits the impressive growth to the aggressive
sales effort of the expanded Kia dealership network,
which now totals 53 dealers nationwide.
“The
vision to bring Kia closer to home, to where our
customers are, has turned the key toward making buyers
more exposed and disposed to our cars,” Mabilog says.
“People now perceive Korean cars, especially Kia, to be
a wise and practical choice because it is inexpensive as
it is fuel-efficient. They give good value for money and
equally good and dependable performance, special
qualities buyers are looking for in a vehicle. We have
leveraged these advantages with our wider product line
offering and aggressive promotional efforts to achieve
our expanded sales goal,” he adds.
The Kia
sales performance in the first half of the year reflects
the local auto industry’s steady optimism despite the
threats of global recession and spiraling cost of fuel.
January-to-June figures show growth was posted at 13.6%,
with commercial vehicles dominating the market with a
15-percent growth in total vehicle sales. Passenger car
sales held their own with a 10.9-percent increase in
sales.
Within
the Kia global network, CAC’s performance in the
Philippines did not escape notice. At the recently
concluded 2008 Kia Global Distributors Convention in
Beijing in May, Columbian Autocar Corporation was
awarded Distributor of the Year in the Asia-Pacific
region. The distinction cited CAC’s “professionalism of
the highest degree and best overall sales performance in
the Asia-Pacific region.”
CAC
joined five other awardees from Kia’s global
distribution network, an intercontinental grid that
connects and services 165 countries. In the award’s
selection process alone, CAC bested 16 countries in the
Asia-Pacific region, no mean feat in a league that
counts Australia, Singapore and Malaysia among its
members.
CAC
distributes and markets locally the Kia Sorento,
Carnival, Sportage, Carens, Rio, Picanto and K2700. |
