It’s an idea whose time has come or, to be completely honest, has been a long time coming. The Ayala-led AC Motors and its ever-growing stable of international brands – whether those it directly oversees, or those it has representative dealerships of – has steadily grown over the years. Nonetheless, there has never been an opportunity to visually showcase the breadth of brands and models the company lays claim to.
Until now.
Sitting on a 3,000-sqm sprawl at 932 28th street corner 9th Avenue in Bonifacio Global City, AC Motors Centrale. in Bonifacio Global City collects all of these mobility marques under one roof. “Now, we can truly say, all roads lead to this one-of-a-kind venue in the center of one of the most coveted business addresses in the country. Indeed, no other place and time is fitting for this occasion. AC Industrials’ automobile and motorcycle distribution and retail businesses have been an integral part of the Ayala group for the last 30 years, enabling AC Motors to provide mobility solutions for the Filipino people,” said AC Industrials (ACI) President and CEO Arthur “Art” Tan in his welcome speech at the venue. AC Motors is under the aegis of ACI, the holding and investment firm of Ayala Corporation specific to “industrial technology, manufacturing, and vehicle distribution and retail interests.”
Perhaps AC Motors Automobile Group President Antonio “Toti” Zara III described the concept best when he called it a “small motor show every day” of vehicles from Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Kia, KTM, and Husqvarna – centrally (pun intended) located in the heart of the city. Another brand, Maxus, is conspicuously absent in deference to the presence of a nearby dealership.
Zara echoed Tan’s bullishness for the auto industry – noting that the sector has registered year-to-date growth of 11% versus the same period last year, and that AC Motors in particular has been “outpacing” the average market performance, while accounting for 4.8% of total industry sales across all its dealers and distributors. “It’s the best time to open Centrale,” he underscored.
AC Motors Centrale, aside from serving as the headquarters of AC Motors, “will have halo models and models of focus… the (displays) will always be changing,” shared Zara to this writer. “What sets AC Motors Centrale apart, aside from being able to house all our brands under a single roof, and giving customers the ability to choose the vehicle that best suits their needs from a wide range of models, is that we take this experience to the next level by offering AC Motors’ new used car program, AC Motors Trade+, which opens up a whole new world of enterprise and ownership opportunities for our customers.”
AC Motors Trade+ is a timely bid to realize an additional revenue stream for the company as well. The auction-based service – powered by the technology of established auto portal ZigWheels Philippines and the dealer market of second-hand car specialist Carmudi Philippines – streamlines the process of selling used cars for new buyers and existing owners into a “five-day turnaround time from inspection, to auction, and payment.” The facility is open to any brand of vehicle – even those outside the ambit of AC Motors.
AC Motors is also trying to leverage the natural synergies it can access as part of the considerable girth of the Ayala Group. Aside from the AC Motors Fleet program, participants get to join the Ayala Rewards Circle and the Ayala Enterprise Circle for small and medium enterprises and large corporations.
This also tacks onto bigger picture of seamless digitization that AC Motors is further building on as “one of the most digitized dealer networks.” The company has revealed that as much as 45% of current sales have been completed through its many online portals – providing a transparent, efficient experience for customers. All the brands featured in AC Motors Centrale have their own comfortable place in the facility’s footprint – with each niche executed and styled in consonance with the most current corporate image. AC Motors Centrale is also expected to be the default stage for forthcoming launches and unveilings of the group’s brands.
As for the topic of electrified mobility, Tan stated, “AC Industrials is fully committed to support AC Motors as it plays a pivotal role entering the next stage of mobility – electrification. This venue will become a part of our sustainable electric vehicle ecosystem, allowing our customers to comfortably enjoy the EV (electric vehicle) models which we will soon be introducing.”
Among AC Motors’ own brands, Volkswagen and Kia in particular have been making a lot of noise in the EV space, and have been globally rolling out relevant models in this genre. Zara told this writer that Filipinos can expect electric vehicles from AC Motors “maybe sooner than everyone expects.”
“The volume would not be much,” he clarified. “But we need to start somewhere, right? And Ayala is not only about electrification in mobility. The group has committed to being net-zero carbon by 2050. And how can we in AC Motors not contribute to this?”
That’s an idea we can all plug into.