Fifteen years ago, in 2008, virtually nobody had heard of the Chinese automotive brand BYD—whose name was either a pinyin form of a Chinese ideogram or a clever meaning for the acronym (Build Your Dream). That was before the American investor Warren Buffett put money in the company for a 10% share. From that point on, the world started taking notice of the brand. BYD would become the biggest electric vehicle brand in China—the country’s answer to America’s Tesla.
The brand arrived in the Philippines in 2013 with little fanfare, through an unheard-of distributor called Solar Transport and Automotive Resources (STAR). Back then, no one in his right mind could have seen the Chinese invasion that our car market is presently experiencing. Maybe if we knew then that Chinese cars would be accepted by Filipinos and that electric cars would be feasible in our territory, more funds might be channeled to the local BYD distributor.
But the reality was that Chinese vehicles—more so electric vehicles—looked like a losing proposition in 2013. I don’t know the inside story, of course, but I could form some theories just by observing. BYD, in many ways, is very much like MG in our market. Their mother companies studied them, letting them do the hard work in introducing the brands to the local customers. And when the circumstances seemed perfect, it was time for the real owners to take over.
There are differences, for sure. With MG, SAIC entered the country and ditched its Filipino partner. With BYD, the original Filipino partner was just replaced by a bigger Filipino partner—which was officially announced last week. Yes, BYD now has a new distributor in AC Motors (of Ayala Corporation). In fairness to the Chinese firm, at least it is keeping STAR as a dealer. In fact, STAR’s second showroom (located in Quezon Avenue) is set to be inaugurated on August 25.
Another difference: While MG had become so popular among customers by the time The Car Covenant Company Inc. turned it over to SAIC, the same thing can’t be said about BYD. And that’s because the former distributor did not (or could not?) spend for marketing. TCCCI did. And the contrast is night and day. You could say that this is a classic lesson in advertising.
And speaking of advertising, AC Motors is also known to have a weakness in this area. You would think that a company owned by Ayala must be a believer in publicity. But no, ad spend is the firm’s Achilles heel. And I say that at the risk of being accused of bias, since the publications that I write for stand to gain from advertising. But that is the reality of the business I belong to. Advertise or fade in the background of irrelevance.
To say that the success of a car brand is entirely pinned to marketing would be ignorant. Brands also have to fix their after-sales service and customer relations. Most of all, their fortune is tied to quality and reliability. But people need to know the brand.
Newly anointed AC Motors head Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala said: “This partnership between one of the largest multibrand automotive groups in the Philippines and the world’s leading EV brand is a cornerstone of the group’s goal of accelerating the future of mobility in the country. Our long-term vision is for AC Motors to become the leading platform for EVs and other new energy vehicles in the Philippines. This includes building up BYD to become a key brand in the Philippine market, with leading share among EV brands and meaningful presence in the automotive market as a whole.”
Nice words. Invest in preaching it.
FILL YOUR TANK: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)