EFFICIENCY need not be expensive!

This is the battle cry of a new car company that recently entered the Philippine market with five of its models during a launch held on July 20 at the Palacio de Manila on Roxas Boulevard.

The various cars are elegantly designed but boast of much cheaper prices, which the company hopes will entice cost-conscious local vehicle buyers.

“Iseway Motor Philippines is deeply committed to providing an economical way of transportation and customer satisfaction. It is a commitment that Iseway shares with Chery, and this is why we chose to bring Chery automobiles into the Philippines,” said Raymond Tumao, president of Iseway Motor Philippines Inc.—the sole authorized service provider of Serrano Enterprises Ltd., which is the exclusive distributor of Chery automobiles in the Philippines.

Unveiled during the elaborate launch hosted by actor Edu Manzano were the Crossover, the Cowin, the Tiggo, the A5 and the QQ, which are all priced much lower than their immediate counterparts in the market and all use unleaded gasoline.

The Crossover V5, which is powered by a 2.0-liter engine mated to a manual transmission and costs only P858,000, is a seven-seater MPV that integrates the most advanced safety features with sophisticated European design. It has a high ground clearance even with seven persons aboard.

The Tiggo is an SUV driven by a 1.6-liter engine with a manual transmission that goes for P728,000, while the Cowin, which is also fitted with a 1.6-liter engine with manual transmission that runs on both LPG and gasoline, is an “environment-friendly, truly road-worthy sedan that runs on a world-class AVL engine” that sells for P479,000.

The A5, on the other hand, is another 1.6-liter with manual transmission-shod executive sedan that is being sold for only P589,000, while the QQ is a compact car that is available in three variants: the .8-liter with manual transmission which is being sold for P339,000; the .8-liter with automatic-manual transmission which is priced at P389,000; and the 1.1-liter with manual transmission that goes for P369,000. Sales representatives milling around the vehicles during the launch have hinted that the QQ may be priced at P290,000 when it enters the market.

 As a new player in the Philippine market that sells China-made motor vehicles, Iseway Motors Philippines is “ambitious in seeking strategic partners in sharing the dreams of creating a well-competitive business environment to meet the high expectations of domestic consumers with a relatively lower pricing but with good quality and value cars.”

Iseway will also try to attain a 20-percent market share within two years “while providing complete after-sales maintenance that guarantees sustainability and functionality of Chery vehicles in respect to our competitive pricing.”

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. was founded in 1997 in the city of Wuhu in China’s Anhui province with the production and operation of automobiles and auto components as its specialty.

Eight years after, Chery was upgraded to IS/TS 16949:2002 production quality—the highest and strictest quality-control system in the global auto industry.

It also began working that same year with Malcolm Bricklin’s company—the Visionary Vehicles—in the hope of being the first Chinese car to be sold in the US. But that venture reportedly bogged down recently.

In its pursuit of exporting cars and designing an array of vehicles for the American, European and even the Chinese markets, the company embarked on several business ventures abroad. Aesthetics is now being handled by Italy’s Bertone and Pininfarina, who are known for their elegant designs for Ferrari and Lamborghini. AVL of Austria is also working with Chery to produce 18 engines, including turbo diesels for its new line of cars, while Bosch is helping it to design modern transmissions.

Lotus Engineering (known worldwide for its racing-car chassis) is responsible for the car design and quality, while Ricardo Consulting Engineers is also developing a hybrid powertrain for China’s first hybrid vehicle. In a new twist of events, Chery recently entered into a partnership with Chevrolet to produce mid- to compact vehicles for the US and European markets.

EFFICIENCY need not be expensive!

This is the battle cry of a new car company that recently entered the Philippine market with five of its models during a launch held on July 20 at the Palacio de Manila on Roxas Boulevard.

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