Dongfeng Motors is not just one car brand, but a conglomerate of multiple automotive brands. So who best to handle it than a veteran automotive industry executive who has handled multiple brands, simultaneously, throughout his career. Atty. Albert Arcilla is the new Managing Director of Dongfeng Motors Philippines. He will be handling Dongfeng as well as its other sub-brands. Having started his automotive career as the chief executive at Volvo Philippines in the mid-90s before taking on Chevrolet and, more recently, MG, Atty. Arcilla will parlay his experience with iconic Swedish, American, and British-Chinese companies into the portfolio of car brands under the huge Dongfeng umbrella. Let’s hear from the man himself as he expresses his dreams and goals, including the challenges that he faces, as he leads the Dongfeng brand in the Philippines.
Congrats on this new chapter in your career Atty. Arcilla! Now that you’re managing a lineup that includes a pure EV, is there a stark difference in marketing them compared to pushing for the conventional cars with combustion engines?
I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to represent various brands, from established brands to emerging brands, models from various segments and emerging brands with its respective brand identities and values.
In this new engagement with Dongfeng Motors and its authorized distributor Legado Motors, Inc., I again have the privilege to present to the market the new brand and its vast range of products and participate and engage our market with the brand of service and customer engagement that the group of Legado Motors has established through their years of experience in the motoring industry, starting from a common carrier people mover with the fleet of Partas Bus Line to their first entry into the regular vehicle sales with a prior brand and now with more focus with the four brands under the Dongfeng Motors Corp lineup.
I feel very fortunate that our four brands under Dongfeng allow us to offer all kinds of vehicle powertrains which include ICE, HEV, PHEV and pure EV. Though the variety of powertrains is wide, we narrow down our work by focusing on the customer experience. Our present company has a clear program of ownership experience that addresses the needs of the purchased vehicle and the general welfare of our Dongfeng customer. Thus, in that sense, we serve our clients with the same quality and fervor notwithstanding the type of engine.
However, since the EV is a new concept that will change the traditional driving and maintenance habits of our motoring public, we have prepared extra information and training materials that our sales force and aftersales technicians would need to implement to ensure the safety and ownership experience of our clients. All these are cascaded to our new EV clients to provide sufficient information and guidance as they use this new technology.
What is the biggest challenge for DFM entering the Philippine market?
We are looking more at the opportunities that Dongfeng has at this stage. Dongfeng has a strong following with the heavy equipment and truck segments and the EV Pickup segment has also paved the way for a smooth entry of the Dongfeng passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Though there is an influx of new brands from various manufacturing sources, Dongfeng is backed by the manufacturing strength and resources that will equip us to provide the best quality and product offers for the Philippine market.
You’ve handled multiple brands simultaneously before, from Swedish to American to Chinese-English brands. How will that be an advantage in your work for DFM?
All the learnings on the management aspect especially on customer handling and enhancing the customer experience from my previous engagements and brands will see a convergence now in our operations at Dongfeng Motors.
I also look forward to learning from a young and dynamic new management team headed by our CEO, Mr. Wilbert Lim and his son, our Deputy CEO Brennan Lim.
You showcased no less than 8 highly diverse models when you formally launched the brand last month. Which ones do you think will make the greatest impact on the local market?
The fastest growing segment is the 7-seater MPV, which is the Aeolus U-Tour and we are very excited with this model introduction and market reception.
Dongfeng has undergone a lot of management changes the past couple of years. How can you assure the public that this current form is here to stay?
As far I as I can recall, Dongfeng has been working with various management groups for lines in their vast array of vehicle offers. There have been distributors and importers for heavy equipment and for EV pickups. For Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles, Legado Motors has been the initial authorized distributor for Dongfeng Motors in the Philippines. Legado Motors has seen the great potential of the new product offers and has decided, together with their consortium of distributors, to expand the management group to maximize the potential of the product lineup at an accelerated pace. That is why we were drafted and invited to join the DFM Management group with the objective of accelerating the growth potential of the brands and models under the Dongfeng brand.
With the number of new brands in the Philippines these past years, would you say Dongfeng’s entry is too late?
The market is growing and the awareness of the consumer to new and emerging brands coming from various countries and manufacturing locations will propel the introduction of new brands in the market. I have had the opportunity to introduce, develop and establish new brands that are now considered mainstream brands and I feel these efforts can be replicated with the growing market who can quickly discern the quality, features and benefits of the new offers and the sincerity of the people behind the brand. Because of this, I feel Dongfeng and Legado Motors, Inc entered the market at the best time possible.
Part of the deterrents of consumers towards new brands are news about them in social media regarding cars that are stuck in the dealership because of unavailability of parts. How does Dongfeng plan to tackle this? Or rather, how many cars’ worth of spare parts do you have in your warehouse?
We at Dongfeng have established a professional group of aftersales team members that have a vast experience in ensuring the aftersales operations are implemented with strict compliance with our principal’s aftersales training and parts availability for our consumers. We have a working parts-to-vehicle sold ratio that will ensure that we will have sufficient parts available for our clients.
We are attuned to the sentiments of our consumers and have evaluated the shared experiences of our consumers with other brands, and these have been our learning tools to ensure that our Dongfeng clients will have a more pleasurable ownership experience.
The car pie of the Philippines is getting bigger, as we have seen last year’s overall sales figures. However with that is also the growth of the old brands. How do you plan on grabbing a significant slice of the pie with Dongfeng?
Our strategy has been clear when we presented our brand and line-up to our motoring colleagues, we will offer the various engine drivetrains to be able to have a Dongfeng vehicle for our customers, depending on their vehicle preference. This will allow us to expand our reach and provide a Dongfeng vehicle to a wider range of clients.
Among the models in your lineup, what car is the flagship for Dongfeng Philippines and why?
I am very excited to see the reception of the motoring public with our 7-seater MPV vehicle, the Forthing U-Tour Petrol engine as this is one of the strongest growing segments in the industry. Further the Aelus Mage is just as exciting as this is the segment that has been consistently growing and has one of the best and newest designs for the segment.
Just as exciting is our entry into the pickup segment with the Rich 7, a segment that has been the most consistently appreciated segment in the industry.
With the implementation of the tax breaks on Hybrid Vehicles, our existing Aelus Huge will have a very good value proposition, which will cater to the new and early adapters of hybrid vehicles.
What car is your bestseller right now? And what car in your lineup piques the most interest during your display showcases in the public?
The Nanobox Full EV compact vehicle shares a big size of our sales currently. However, the interest on the Aelus Huge Hybrid has increased due to the change in pricing strategy due to the new tax breaks recently adopted.
What car are you considering to bring next to the Philippines?
We will focus on the newly introduced models, the Forthing U-Tour 7-Seater MPV, Forthing Hybrid Mage, and the Rich 7 ICE Pickup. However, we are now in accelerated discussions with the various other brands under the Dongfeng portfolio of vehicles with the implementation of the new exceptions on Hybrid vehicles.
What are your growth plans for your dealer network and your projections for vehicle sales in the short term and long term?
We currently have a total of 7 operating dealers focused on Metro Manila (including Alabang, Ortigas, Marcos Hi-Way and Bacoor). We also have regional dealers at Pampanga and Tarlac and Davao City in Mindanao. We are working on the appointment of an additional five dealers and by the end of the year our target is to be able to appoint at least 15 operating dealers.
We feel our dealer network growth plans will be sufficient for our product offers and at the same time provide our dealer partners to optimize the business opportunities with the product introductions and aggressive communication and pricing strategy.