AUTOMOBILE Central Enterprises, Inc. (ACEI), the exclusive distributor of the German car brand Volkswagen, has set a target of 50% sales growth in 2019, banking on its stable of affordable models and an expected recovery in the auto industry.
At an ACEI media party in Pasay City, Felipe P. Estrella III, the new president of ACEI, said the firm is confident of reversing the slowdown in sales last year with “at least” 50% annual growth in 2019.
“Riding the wave (of an) expected industry recovery, we are confident that we can achieve this,” he said Thursday night.
Overall auto sales fell 16% in 2018 to 357,410 units, dampened by new auto excise taxes and inflation and oil prices ACEI sales were little changed at 1,363 units.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc., the automotive dealership arm of the Ayala Group, ACEI is also banking on the five new models introduced in May.
These are the Santana and Santana GTS sedans, the Lavida sedan, the Tiguan compact crossover, and the Lamando sedan.
The company hopes to introduce two new sport utility vehicle (SUV) models, according to Mr. Estrella.
The Santana starts at P686,000. The model, along with the GTS, accounted for about 33% of ACEI’s overall sales last year.
“We hope that our products, aftersales service, and new and existing dealerships will greatly add to the buying public’s own affinity for our brand, and will even attract more segments of the market,” added Mr. Estrella.
Mr. Estrella also said ACEI will add four more dealerships this year to bring its network to 12.
The new dealerships will be located in Metro Manila and provinces yet to be determined. — Janina C. Lim
