Bayan Automotive Industries Corp., a unit of Universal Motors Corp., launched a new line-up of commercial light vehicles under the BAIC brand.
Bayan Automotive president and chief executive George Chua said the company was moving on to become a part of the major automotive industry again.
“We were really looking to develop another brand. BAIC is our new brand and we intend to grow this to become a major automotive brand in the Philippines. We know for a fact that any new startup is a difficult thing, but we are determined to be successful in this endeavor,” he said during the groundbreaking of BAIC’s inside UMC headquarters in Makati City.
BAIC or Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company is one of the top five Chinese carmakers. It is 12-percent owned by Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes Benz cars.
The brand had a quiet debut in 2014 and built seven dealerships nationwide with presence as far as Zamboanga City.
Bayan Automotive assistant vice president for marketing and corporate communications Honeymae Limjap said the company, while taking a proactive stance on all models, considered two van nameplates – MZ40 and MZ 45 – as their bread and butter.
“We also bring in premium models such our 4×4 SUV but this is just to show that we can do quality. But by testing our vans, which are our bestsellers, one will realize that what we have is quality beyond expectation,” she said.
Fleet sales of vans grew as the company recently signed up to deliver 40 MZ45 to Bounty Fresh, the poultry brand of Vitarich Corp.
It also signed another fleet sales contract with a cable company services group for installation and trouble-shooting.
Limjap said Bayan Automotive was working very hard to correct misconception that Chinese vehicles were not road-worthy.
“We know of that stigma, but since we are an experienced company with over 50 years of good track record since we brought in Nissan, we are aware that we need to double our efforts for brand consciousness. We brought our team back from when we were still manufacturing Nissan light commercial vehicles to train in China and make sure that the brand is a worthy investment,” said Limjap.
She said BAIC after-sales service would not be a problem as they had dealers in Metro Manila and in the provinces.
Limjap said UMC also had experience in manufacturing and that the assembly of BAIC vehicles in the Philippines would be possible in the future.
“But right now, we want to stabilize sales first, grow our dealership and create the critical volume,” she said.