Scania bullish on Phl as first outlet opens

The continuing influx of automotive brands is an undeniable and welcome barometer of our economy’s health, and a piece of good news for car buyers. Additionally, the luxury of choice is now available for those on the lookout for commercial vehicles—again demonstrated recently with the opening of Scania’s first facility in the Philippines.

Following the appointment of BJ Mercantile, Inc. last year as official sales and services dealer, Scania unveiled its corporate offices, showroom, and service facility at 1132 EDSA in Balintawak, Quezon City last week, formalizing its entry in the local market.

Scania, named after the southernmost Swedish province where it was founded in 1891, first made “engine-propelled carriages” in the late 19th century before it became a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses—along with industrial, marine, and power engines. It has production facilities in Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Argentina, Poland, Brazil, and Russia; and assembly plants in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Today, even as it is now a part of the considerable Volkswagen Group, Scania proudly retains its Swedish heritage—with the logo even adopted from the coat of arms of the Scania province. The brand operates in about 100 countries where it employs more than 37,500 employees, and has sold more than 1,400,000 trucks and buses.

Now, according to BJ Mercantile VP Leilani Lim-Tan, variants of Scania’s G360 and G410 trucks are readily available and are in Scania’s EDSA inventory. The facility features a display area that accommodates eight trucks, and a service area with three bays plus a drivers’ lounge, tools room, service reception area, assembly area, and stock room.

Headquartered within the company’s 8,000-square-meter property, BJ Mercantile is extremely confident about the resonance of Scania in the market. One can say the timing is just about right, as well. With a looming power shortage, Lim-Tan reports that Scania’s generator sets for industrial use will be coming in by the end of March. Buses and coaches—seeking to meet fixed-route demands—are expected to arrive in mid-May.

This means Scania is poised for growth over the short and long term. BJ Mercantile’s large facility in San Simon, Pampanga can be allocated for the business “depending on how the market grows” by the end of next year, Lim-Tan said in an earlier interview with STAR Motoring. Scania projects to sell a consolidated total of 60 units of buses, coaches, and trucks for the year.

Meanwhile, Scania Southeast Asia managing director James Armstrong, in town for the showroom opening, says that the company liked what it saw in the Philippines: “good economic conditions and good business opportunities.”

Replying to a question from STAR Motoring if there has been a perceived shift in the ASEAN region towards more premium commercial vehicles such as Scania, Armstrong declares: “We see increasing professionalism of operators who really understand how better quality vehicles can increase their revenue by (prolonging) vehicle uptime… more miles, more load capacity, more tons per kilometer, more passengers.”

Scania thus appeals to more mature businessmen with a “higher focus on total operating economy… Operators believe in the value that Scania can deliver.”

The Philippines, Armstrong asserts, is characterized by a high proportion of second-hand commercial vehicles. But the tide has begun to turn, and Scania wants to be here to catch a wave – or two, or even more.

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