It’s funny how top auto execs think alike. Perhaps it’s because they all come from the same school of marketing (not the same universities, of course) or that they all wade through the same problems and after many years, have come to know what works and what does not in the local motoring scene. And what to expect from year to year.
An example is how they view the new year after experiencing virtually the same things in the year just past.
As senior moonlighting script writer for the longest running motoring television program in the country (no jokes about the age of scribe and host please) we got hold of a transcript of interviews with top marketing honchos of the auto industry.
Everyone is optimistic about the new year whatever government and politicians do. After all, while there was a surfeit of crises in 2005, the industry still managed to increase total sales of BRAND NEW vehicles, however slight.
Says Honda’s Arnel Doria: "What happened in 2005, there were lots of ups and downs in the market. But we hope that everything will settle down. And 2006 will promise to be a better year for everybody especially at Honda.
Adds Albert Arcilla of Volvo: "Judging from how the 2005 results for the automotive industry showed, I think we can be very optimistic for 2006 despite the many challenges that we had in 2005. We see that numbers are still pretty good for the whole automotive industry especially our segment of the industry and in the passenger car segment. So we look forward to 2006 with so much optimism."
Albert was brave enough to predict numbers for Volvo. The company looks forward to selling 300 to 350 cars, good enough numbers in the luxury vehicle segment.
Everyone agrees with Albert, believing more vehicles will be sold in the new year, some even seeing the industry breaching the 100,000 level.
But only if, and only if, government does something about those bad, bad importers of second-hand vehicles.
Says Mitsubishi’s Mel Dizon: "The industry is looking forward to hitting 100,000 brand new vehicle sales in 2006. But of course it would depend on the determination of government to control the used vehicle importation. So with the current high level of commitment on (government’s) part to control it, we are confident we can hit 100,000 next year."
Ford’s Don Gelinas sees the same thing, only he takes the longer view. Says he: "Unfortunately, the sad reality is we tend to go economic crisis to political crisis and back. So as soon as we get a lot of these issues behind us, I think the potential is there. . . . As soon as we can get our arms around the vehicle imports, the industry has the capability of 10 to 20 percent growth year over year to really catch up to where Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia have gotten to. . . . When you look back at the Asian crisis--the currency crisis back in the late 90s -- every one has rebounded except the Philippines. So it’s kind of disappointing in that respect because I think the economy is waiting to get energized. So hopefully, 2006 will be the year."
Auto buyers can look forward to more vehicles to choose from, say other auto execs.
Says Gerry Alejandro: "I think 2006 would be the exciting year for the Ford group and Mazda. We have a lot of exciting events, a lot of great products. We will continue to serve to the public and the consumers great products and services. Well I think it’s gonna be a good year. Really exciting for us!"
Isuzu’s Art Balmadrid is, as usual, matter of fact in his comments: "We are expecting a bigger volume next year. We will be including in our lineup more four-wheel-drive vehicles. One of the reasons why we will introduce more 4WDs is because of the clamor that we have been receiving from the public. Some really wanted to have 4WD SUVs with diesel engines using the common-rail fuel injection technology."
Toyota’s Dan Isla however warns us to expect a price increase. Says he: "For 2006 we’re looking at the price levels of the vehicles to be on an upward trend, although minimal. This is due to the rising cost of production, particularly the steel component of the vehicle and also because of the implementation of the new fiscal policies of the government, specifically, the VAT. . . Still we are looking at a modest growth of five percent. I think the general outlook will be positive."
For more on the auto industry executive’s predictions for the year, watch Motoring Today on Channel 4 on Sunday.
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