Story & photos by Patrick P. Tulfo
VOLKSWAGEN Philippines, the exclusive importer and distributor of VW vehicles in the country, formally introduced the company’s new president—Felipe Estrella III—during the media appreciation night held recently at Resorts World Manila.
The youthful looking Estrella joined Ayala Corp. (AC) in 2010 and was the chief financial officer of AC Industrials since 2017 prior to his appointment as president of VW Philippines.
Estrella’s appointment couldn’t have come at a better time, as Ayala Corp. has been expanding its involvement in the motoring sector through automotive sales and distribution arm AC Automotive. Late last year they have acquired their fifth brand when they announced their partnership with Kia, which joins Honda, Isuzu, KTM motorcycles and Volkswagen in their roster.
During his speech, Estrella said, “This 2019 I want more Filipinos to discover or create their own wonderful stories in their very own Volkswagens. We will aim better than our 2018 sales by at least 50 percent and I am confident that we can achieve this.”
He added, “We have five new distinctive models, the aftersales services and warranties, and we plan to expand our current network of eight dealerships by adding at least four more. We hope our products, aftersales service, and new and existing dealerships will greatly add to the buying public’s own affinity for our brand.”
Volkswagen sales beat the odds last year despite an industry-wide sales dip of 15 percent. The German brand was able to sell the same number of vehicles as it did in 2017. In fact, its passenger-car sales grew by 7 percent despite the overall industry decline of 21 percent. Furthermore, Volkswagen Philippines has achieved a compounded annual growth rate of 67 percent since its inception in 2013 according to Chief Operations Adviser of Volkswagen in the Country Klaus Schadewald.
No doubt the introduction of five new models, namely, the Santana, Santana GTS, Lavida, Tiguan and Lamando in May of last year has something to do with the growth. These models, which are all sourced in China but still carry the distinctive characteristics and build quality of German-made Volkswagen, made it even more accessible to Filipino buyers, as the company was able to lower their selling price with the Santana sedan starting at P686,000. The Santana and its sibling GTS models were the best-selling models for VW Philippines last year with a 33-percent share of the total sales.
Meanwhile, SUV fans will have something to look forward to as the company is set to introduce two new models in the ever-growing segment in the next 12 months.
For more information on Volkswagen Philippines product lineup, you may visit any of their eight dealerships or log on to www.volkswagen.com.ph.
Image credits: Patrick P. Tulfo