Text and photos by Aries B. Espinosa
THE Batangas City Diversion Road, a stretch of wide highway that links the busy Batangas Port to the strategic Southern Luzon Arterial Road, or STAR Tollway — speeding up transport to and from south Luzon — has also become a vibrant automotive row where many dealerships of the country’s top automotive brands have set up shop.
So, if you’re a new dealership about to locate yourself in a place filled with the competition, how do you “divert” the market’s attention to your business? Make it big, and make it world-class.
That’s what the brand-spanking new Nissan Batangas just did — and showed — to guests on its inauguration last April 10.
As Lica Auto Group Chief Operating Officer Tey Sornet confirmed, the dealership is among the biggest in the Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) network at 3,000 square meters, with a showroom that can fit up to 10 cars. The dealership is managed by Tetra Sales and Services, Inc. (TSSI), under the wing of the Lica Auto Group.
It’s big, and classy. As Batangas City has become a strategic location not only in the Calabarzon economic corridor but also in the different major island destinations of the port’s shipping lanes, Nissan Batangas has made sure that the customer experience stands out and is consistent across its wide reach. Thus, Nissan Batangas has been built and furnished following the Nissan Retail Environment Design Initiative (NREDI) 2.1, a global retail visual design rolled out by Nissan Motors Co. Ltd., to its global network, unifying different markets under one visual identity. Its philosophy is centered on enhancing Nissan customer experience through premium comfort and innovative services.
Ramesh Narasimhan, NPI president and managing director, explained: “This new visual identity is intended to become more inviting to our customers and at the same time showcase Nissan cars at its most attractive and exciting way, and our Batangueño customers will experience service excellence that is uniquely Nissan.”
To show how aggressive Nissan Batangas would be in “upholding the driving spirit of innovation and excitement that is inherent in the Nissan DNA,” as what TSSI President Felix Limcaoco III stressed, a pearl-black, P6.4-million Nissan GT-R Premium loaned from NPI welcomed guests and at the showroom entrance.
