GAC Motor Philippines is off to a busy start this year. Fresh off Astara’s acquisition of the Chinese brand here in our market, it now sets its sights on improving its sales figures this year.
During the launch of the Empow and the all-new GS8 earlier today, Astara managing director for Southern Europe and the Philippines Jorge Belzunce said that he expects the GAC brand to grow its sales numbers sevenfold with its rejuvenated lineup.
We then asked new GAC Motor brand head Jun Cajayon to comment on this, and he gave us a figure: “more than 2,000 units.” This would be the goal for the brand in 2023.
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Cajayon told us that this would only be achievable by further expanding the brand’s dealership network. GAC Motor Philippines targets to have 20 dealership locations by the end of 2023, nine of which will be operational by midyear: BGC, Makati, Cainta, E. Rodriguez, Manila Bay, Quezon Avenue, Lipa City, Batangas, and Cagayan de Oro.
Another part of its strategy to improve its sales performance is to bolster its lineup with sales drivers, which right now are SUVs and crossovers. This was also the exact same reason the GA4 subcompact sedan was discontinued here.
“Wait, the Empow is a compact sedan, right?” That’s true, but we were told that the Empow is a very important model for GAC in China and is something that our market should also have. The GA4, on the other hand, has had difficulty competing in a segment heavily dominated by the likes of the Toyota Vios, Mitsubishi Mirage G4, and Honda City.
That being said, the next two launches for GAC in our market will both be SUVs. Executives kept mum about what those models will be, though.
What say you, readers? Are you liking this new strategy from GAC Motor Philippines and its new management?
