Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Local car dealer sees peak in sales, eyes meeting target
THE local dealer of Chery automobiles in Cebu said the company experienced its peak in sales and inquiries last month or four months after it started operations.
Raymond Basubas, managing director of Visayas Second Row Corp., said the company has been hitting its target and is already halfway its goal of selling 100 units of Chery automobiles by December.
With this, Basubas believes the Cebu dealership has a bigger potential to outperform other dealers in the country.
Visayas Second Row Corp. is the dealer of Chery cars in Cebu. It has a showroom in Mandaue City and a service center in Minglanilla town that opened last month.
The service center is currently being upgraded and will soon be turned into a showroom and an after-sales support office to cater to its buyers who are from southern Cebu.
Buyer profile
Basubas also revealed that the company is getting a mix of buyer profile that includes young professionals, first-time car owners and referral buyers.
He said the company also has clients who used to buy surplus or second-hand units but have decided to purchase brand-new Chery units.
This shift in buying behavior is one area where Chery will concentrate on for its marketing efforts since they see the second-
hand buying market as a big market that still needs to be explored.
Financing
Basubas said the company offers free assistance in selling second-hand or surplus units of customers who want to purchase Chery cars but are yet to dispose of their current units.
Jonas Silva, marketing and after sales service manager of Chery’s Philippine exclusive distributor—Iseway Motors Philippines Inc., also said the company is in talks with Chery International to come up with a financing or leasing company in the country.
If the company can put up this kind of facility, Silva said Chery may be able to serve 80 percent of Filipinos who will apply for a car loan.
Aside from this, Silva also revealed that the company is extending a 100,000 mileage or one-year warranty—whichever comes first—to buyers who will use Chery automobiles in a taxi operation.
“This shows how confident we are with our units,” Silva said. (DME)
