Two years after venturing into the MPV market with the Chevrolet Orlando, The Covenant Car Company Inc. (aka Chevrolet Philippines) is at it again. The company is set to launch its latest contender, the Chevrolet Spin, in the MPV market next month. TopGear.com.ph gathered this information during a media ride-and-drive event in Thailand this week.
\"Spin,\" according to Chevrolet, is actually a contraction of \"seven people in.\"
Obviously, the Spin is a seven-seater, all-around utility vehicle that\'s a little smaller than the Orlando, but with 23 adjustable seating positions. In the Philippines, the Spin will be available in two midtrim variants: the 1.3-liter CRDi turbodiesel MT and the 1.5-liter gasoline AT.
A subcompact MPV, the Spin is Chevrolet\'s \"latest foray into a new road in the Philippines,\" said TCCCI president Albert Arcilla, adding that it is \"an important car\" for TCCCI.
Moreover, TCCCI senior vice president and director for marketing and customer services Lyn Buena stressed the significance of the MPV segment in the country. Buena disclosed that the MPV B-segment sells 6,000 to 7,000 units per year in the country. \"This vehicle is the choice of the young modern Filipino family because of its practicality, convenience and comfort,\" she said.
Designed in Brazil, the new subcompact MPV will be manufactured in Indonesia. Given the variants that will be available in the country, one might assume that the Spin will be the future competitor of the Toyota Avanza for fleet accounts.
\"That is the hope,\" Buena told TopGear.com.ph. However, the variants that will be available in August are of midtrim level, she pointed out. The executive shared that the company hopes to bring in the entry-level Spin variants, which are more appropriate for fleet accounts. The midtrim levels that will come to our shores next month, on the other hand, are targeted at families.
\"[The Spin] fills the gap between sedans and full-size SUVs and trucks, and it is fun to own and drive,\" said Chevrolet Thailand and General Motors Southeast Asia operations vice president of sales, marketing and aftersales Gustavo Colossi in a statement. \"It is an MPV that could become part of the owner\'s lifestyle. It is a lifestyle enabler.\"
TCCCI has not divulged its sales target for the Spin or even its pricing. But Arcilla and Buena hinted to TopGear.com.ph that the price range of its new baby MPV will be in the ballpark of the Toyota Avanza G AT\'s price tag, which is P868,000.
Photos by Mikko David
