China cars see positive growth in Cebu

For the first quarter of its operation in the city, China car brand Chery Automobile has already drawn positive sales target as revealed by its dealership executive in an interview.

Raymund Basubas, branch manager of Chery Cebu said in an interview that their branch was able to reach 50 percent of their target of 20 units a month for the first quarter of this year.

Basubas said that they have been servicing car buyers all the way far South and North of the province such as those from Carcar City and Liloan.

And having noted this huge demand from the market in the South, they will be putting up a temporary showroom along Minglanilla this June to “better service the market” in those areas.

“We have done well for the first quarter. Most of our clients have become impressed with the designs of our Chery cars. So far there have been no complaints regarding quality. Our clients are reassured as we have given additional five months warranty or P150, 000 money back warranty,” said Basubas.

Currently, Chery Cebu is in negotiation with some taxi operators to utilize their Cowin units for LPG taxis.

“With the high cost of fuel today, our cars have been doing very good in the market especially our QQ model. We have been able to capture first time car buyers as well as those who needed extra cars. Most of our clients have big cars but usually they need new cars for their everyday use to run for errands,” he added.

Within the year, Chery Cebu is targeting to sell out 200 units and Basubas said that with the rapid phase of their sales in the first few months of their operations, they are confident to meet this year’s target.

Chery cars are priced from P369, 000 to P899, 000 and in the following months, Chery Cebu will also be presenting four new model units V5, V2, Karry, and Tiggo Automatic 2.0 Engine.

China’s automobile industry has been undergoing rapid development since year 2000 and was able to overtake Japan to become the world’s second largest market for new vehicles in 2006 next only to the United States. It registered sales of 7.22 million units, up by 25.13 percent year-on-year surpassing Germany as the third largest automobile maker in the world, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers in reports.

Other emerging Chinese car brands in the market today include: Foton, Chang’an, Geely, Lifan, Jac, Hafei, and Changhe, among others. Some of these brands already have presence in the Philippines such as Jac Automobiles and Geely.

Chery Automobile Co. was founded in 1997 and penetrated the Philippine market in May of 2007 with 31 dealerships, 14 of which are already operating in key areas in the country.

Manufactured in China, Chery cars feature European technology and standards in automobile fabrication.

In 2007, Chery achieved a historical milestone reflecting the domestic emergence of China’s growing industrial strength. It sold a total of 381,000 passenger cars in their global market which represented an increase of 24.8% over the previous year. Its overseas sales volume doubled with an increase of 132%, reaching 119,800 units making Chery the 4th largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in China.