Gencars Inc. on Wednesday opened its dealership of Isuzu vehicles in Batangas City in line with the Japanese manufacturer’s strategy to expand its presence and market in the Philippines.
The Batangas outlet is Gencars’s sixth and the biggest Isuzu dealership in the Philippines.
Isuzu Batangas occupies about 5,250 square meters, which is part of a 6-hectare complex that now has the city’s main bus terminal.
“This facility can serve all types of Isuzu products, including trucks, because of its state-of-the-art equipment. I would like to congratulate you [Gencars] on this for answering our call to expand the dealership,” said Hajime Koso, Isuzu Philippines president.
Koso last year took the helm of the presidency at Isuzu Philippines and called for the expansion of dealership in the country to maintain its status as the country’s fifth-largest overall vehicle dealer and fend off possible customer-switching to other brands.
“Our [Cabangon] family is very grateful to Batangas City and the least that we can do is to do good service on automotive, especially Isuzu,” said D. Edgard A. Cabangon, Gencars managing director.
“We won’t be here if not for the support and trust of Isuzu Philippines. We are expanding because of you,” Cabangon said.
The new dealership hopes to service Isuzu vehicle owners in Batangas City and nearby areas, who previously need to bring their vehicles to Santo Tomas, Batangas, for maintenance.
According to Arthur Balmadrid, Isuzu Philippines senior vice president, the market for the new Isuzu outlet is big, since it can service the vehicles that are going elsewhere in the Philippines due to its proximity to the Batangas Port, one of the country’s busiest ports.
“All trucks and buses going to the port can be serviced through this facility,” he said.
Total Isuzu sales in the first six months of the year reached 13,258 units, a 30.4-percent increase, from the 10,169 units sold last year, according to data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association.
Isuzu’s sales were faster than the 27.4-percent rate, or 167,481 units sold, posted by the country’s entire automotive industry for the said period.
Image credits: Roy Domingo