Peugeot’s changing of the guard
It was only in January 1, 2013 that Eurobrands Distributor, Inc. officially started its operations as the exclusive importers and distributors of one of Europe’s leading automobile brands—Peugeot.
And after only two years, Peugeot Philippines immediately became the number 2 bestselling country in the Asean region, besting the likes of Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The only Asean country that came ahead of the Philippines is Malaysia. But it took them 15 years to accomplish what the top-notched Pinoy managers and marketers did in record two years’ time.
The remarkable men and women of Peugeot Philippines who performed the unprecedented feat were under the distinctive tutelage of auto industry icon, Mr. Felix J. Mabilog, Jr.
In a few day’s time Mr. Mabilog shall step aside, not step down to give way to young blood to continue with what he has started and established in Peugeot Philippines and his able successor, Mr. Glen Dasig, coming from being the marketing director of BMW Philippines would indeed have huge shoes to fill as he assumes the presidency of EDI now with his focus on Peugeot vehicles.
Our good friend Glen is not really in a very enviable position. Although his garnering the EDI presidency can be considered as a very young climax to a meteoric rise in the auto industry, after sharpening his skills with his varied positions with Ford Philippines and eventually finding himself securely belonging to the Alvarez Automotive Group, what lies ahead can be a very challenging task for this young marketing professional. With a predecessor considered as a dyed-in-the-wool all around auto industry manager and executive, who has done the rounds of practically all the facets of the auto industry, from sales, marketing, operations, finance, manufacturing, name it, Mr. Felix Mabilog has been there and has left an indelible mark of excellence, he is indeed a hard act to follow. And we wish Glen all the luck. And I’m sure he’ll manage and manage well.
For the French, our friend Felix is a sales and marketing “maverick,” in the better context of the word. Consider that five years ago “nobody in Paris would have thought that Peugeot would have a successful comeback to the Philippines,” words from one of Peugeot’s top executives. “But it sold almost 500 units on its first year and another close to 500 on the second, immediately making it the 2nd largest selling country in the region.”
It’s not only the sales performance of Peugeot that has placed the Philippines in the French automaker’s map of top performers, putting up 12 complete dealerships all over the country in record time of less than 18 months is reportedly something that no other country in Asia, and even probably in the world has done in Peugeot’s century-old history—and you can easily discern the Felix Mabilog brand of persistent management behind the feat.
Some unflattering words have been written about the man, which some even consider as outright irresponsible. I shall not dwell on that. However, I need to say that Felix can be misunderstood if you don’t know him well or refuse to think deeper than what you can see. His main frailty, if I may, is his temper, but only for things that he feels should be done but not done—meaning when it comes to work. Otherwise, he’s a very compassionate man. A man that shall not turn his back on his friend—good or bad. A man who’ll stay with you in good or in bad times. As for his age, is there anything better than experience?
As I mentioned earlier, Felix is not stepping down. He still heads the Mahindra Auto Group, the latest brand from India that has set up its stakes in the Philippines. And watch out for the brand. With Felix around leading it, you’re in for big surprises.
I doff my hat to you, Mr. Mabilog.
Remarkable fuel figures for VW
The 3rd Volks Wagen Fuel Eco Fun Run held last February 18 came up with some outstanding results that back up VW’s claim to top-notched fuel performance of their automobile models.
Three models; the Polo Notch 1.6, the Touran 2.0 TDI and the Tiguan 2.0 TDI were driven by invited motoring journalists from a service station at the NLEX up to Abe’s Farm in Magalang, Pampanga for a distance of about 145 kilometers.
The Sunshine TV team composed of segment producer and online operations manager, Ray Louis “Wee” Gamboa and veteran cameraman Raul Promeda registered the best fuel performance in their Polo Notch category of 26.54 kilometers per liter. In the Touran category, Steven Yu and Jebel Fajardo came up with 22.85 kilometers per liter while Brent Co and Martin Aguilar registered 17.86 aboard their Tiguan.
The VW Eco Fun Run was observed with the results verified by an official representative of Clean Air Asia, Mr. Mark Ponce.
Isuzu confidently continues with the Crosswind
Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) recently launched the 2015 version of the long time tried and tested Isuzu Crosswind last week at One Esplanade at the Mall of Asia.
“Form and functionality is what the 2015 Isuzu Crosswind is all about. Given that the Crosswind model is proven capable to stylishly carry not just members of the family but also serves as a reliable cargo carrier for the enterprising few,” confidently declared IPC president Nobuo Izumina during the launch ceremonies.
The 2015 Isuzu Crosswind debuts the comeback of the popular XUV variant, which is available in Automatic Transmission.
For its aesthetic upgrades check it out in your nearest Isuzu Philippines dealership located nationwide.
Motoring Today ONLINE
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Happy Motoring!!!
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