Despite the financial tsunami that nearly wiped out Wall Street and the subsequent crosscurrents it created that had thrown big and small economies in disarray, the Philippines included, Kia has defiantly cruised to its 10-month steady ascent to the top of the sales charts.
Columbian Autocar Corp., distributor of Kia in the Philippines, recorded a convincing 63-percent sales growth in the last 10 months, the highest in the industry, and laid claim to being the fastest-growing automotive brand in the country today.
Kia vehicle sales grew by 63 percent from January to October, according to data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Phils. Inc. Kia was followed by Nissan which posted a 37.2-percent growth and Hyundai at 34.4 percent, rounding off the top three. General Motors took the fourth spot at 24.5 percent, tailed by Mitsubishi at 19.7 percent, while Audi got the sixth spot at 18.3 percent, followed by Suzuki at 14.9 percent. The eighth spot went to Isuzu at 7.0 percent with Mazda on the ninth spot at 6.5 percent. Toyota and Ford tied the tenth spot at 6.1-percent growth.
Felix Mabilog Jr., CAC president and chief operating officer, attributed Kia’s impressive growth to the aggressive sales effort of the expanded Kia dealership network with more than 50 dealers nationwide.
“People now perceive Korean cars, especially Kia, to be a wise and practical choice. This is especially true today because car buyers are wary of buying expensive cars due to the unstable economic climate. Apart from opting for inexpensive and fuel- efficient cars, they also give high marks for value for money. We have used these advantages with our wider product line offering and continuous promotional efforts,” Mabilog says.
Kia’s sales performance in the first 10 months of the year reflects the local auto industry’s upbeat outlook despite the US recession and the fluctuating cost of fuel.
Within the Kia global distribution network, CAC’s performance in the Philippines also received rave notice. CAC has recently been named to Kia’s elite Zenith Club, a distinguished and highly esteemed group whose membership is limited only to winners of Kia Distributor of the Year distinction. CAC was the recipient of this award for the Asia Pacific Region in May this year. The award recognized Columbian Autocar Corp.’s “outstanding contributions and excellence of the highest degree as one of Kia Motor’s top distributors in 2008.”
The Zenith Club Award was presented Mabilog by Euisun Chung, president of Kia Motors Corp. CAC joined 14 other fellow awardees that included distributors from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
CAC distributes and markets locally the Kia Sorento, Carnival, Sportage, Carens, Rio, Picanto for the passenger car segment and the K2700 for the light commercial vehicle.
