CAR dealer ANC Group of Co. revealed its plan to further expand the footprint of Suzuki vehicles in the Philippines with a total of nine dealership hubs by next year.
As part of this initiative, the company opened on Wednesday four sites in the eastern part of Metro Manila, bringing its network of shops to six at present. These include Suzuki Auto Pasig, which is the 32nd sales, spare parts, and services (3S) dealership of Suzuki Philippines Inc. (SPH); and three satellite showrooms in SM San Mateo, SM Masinag and SM Taytay in Rizal province—at a total cost of around P15 million. The first three hubs are owned and managed by Mt. Sinai Motors Corp., and the latter by Etna Motors Inc.—both members of ANC.
Pasig and Rizal are two of the biggest and economically thriving areas in the country where the Japanese automaker is keen on strengthening its presence, according to SPH President Hiroshi Suzuki.
“We, at Suzuki Philippines, see great potential in these markets, which is why we are currently expanding our reach in these areas. This move will definitely help us bring Suzuki’s top quality automobiles to more motorists here in the eastern side of Metro Manila,” he said.
Inaugurating more than one dealership in a day, according to Suzuki ANC General Manager Francisco de la Cruz, is already a feat in itself as this is “the first time that an automobile brand” has done this.
“This event significantly symbolizes the unprecedented commitment of the ANC Group in the pursuance of excellence in providing gold standard services to all of our customers,” he said. ANC started its partnership with Suzuki three years ago, with the establishment of Suzuki 3S dealership in Marcos Highway and a satellite showroom in SM Fairview in 2012.
A year after, Suzuki Auto Commonwealth in Quezon City opened. The company, however, closed its pioneering 3S dealership line in February and replaced it with the just-opened Pasig hub.
Suzuki ANC President Anthony Cheng noted their impressive business growth alongside that of SPH in just a short span of their partnership. He cited that over the last four years, SPH has been growing at more than 30 percent year-on-year.
“And since October this year, I think they’ve already passed almost 60 percent of last year’s sales performance,” he said. “Together with them, we’re also growing.” Over the last two years, de la Cruz told the BusinessMirror that ANC has been achieving almost 200-percent growth in terms of Suzuki vehicle sales volume.
On the average, he said that their 3S dealership in Commonwealth and satellite showroom in SM Fairview have been selling 35 units and 20 units a month, respectively.
“As for the three new satellite showrooms, we target to produce a minimum sales of 15 units per month, and for this 3S [in Pasig], a minimum sales of 50 units per month,” he said.
Confident of achieving such goals, de la Cruz disclosed that more dealership hubs are in the pipeline for next year and beyond. He said that they are allotting around P10 million for three more sites—two satellite showrooms in Quezon Avenue, Quezon City and Malolos, Bulacan, and one 3S dealership in Pulilan, Bulacan—set to open in the first quarter of 2016.
He added that they are now discussing with SPH for more dealerships, including one in Cavite and in Baliwag, Bulacan.
“We’re just waiting for their approval,” he said, while noting the possibility of their respective openings in the second and third quarters of next year.
Image credits: Roy Domingo