WITH the battle cry “we will make Chery the Filipinos’ car choice,” Chery Auto Philippines, represented by the United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI) bagged the 2021 Brand Breakthrough Award from Chery International, besting five of thirty other countries where the brand is distributed.
The Chery Overseas Distribution Awarding Ceremony is an annual event held by Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. From its headquarters in Wuhu, China the event was virtually broadcast to the entire Chery global network composed of distributors from over 30 countries.
The awards aim to recognize the global distributors achieving excellence in performance across marketing innovation, branding, product upgrade, excellent service, and network building.
“It is gratifying to see that all the hard work and efforts by the Chery Auto Philippines team and our fast-growing nationwide network of dealers are being recognized by our principals,” UAAGI and Chery Auto Philippines President Rommel Sytin shared.
Only two countries–Brazil and the Philippines received the Brand Breakthrough Award–besting other global distributors from 30 countries including top performers like Russia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Chile, and Egypt.
Moving to get the award was a major achievement in itself, because the brand was just relaunched in November 2019–and sales began in its dealer network the month after. The events that followed the announcement of the coronavirus spread in China practically cut the brand off the market.
“Just three months after our Philippine launch, the government imposed a nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were forced to close our dealerships, yet we thought of ways on how to reach out to the Filipinos to offer Chery,” Sytin shared.
Before the pandemic, the eruption of the Taal Volcano which affected nearby regions and Metro Manila have also halted the operations of dealers and allocation of vehicles. Several typhoons also destroyed businesses, especially the automotive line, which adversely decreased vehicle sales for the whole Philippine industry by as much as 50 percent.
Proving that good planning, a healthy investment into innovative marketing and finding exactly when the market achieved the resiliency and flexibility needed to recover, Chery continued marketing efforts which included opening of dealerships, now totalling 18 even in the midst of the pandemic. It also boldy introduced new models–including its first electric car–despite the contracted market.
“It was a challenging start, but we had to prove that our brand is stronger than these hindrances,” Sytin commented adding that despite the numerous setbacks that occurred since it was launched last November 2019, Chery PH continued with its plans to grow.
To achieve this brand presence in a contracted market, Chery fortified its digital presence through social media, its website, and a Chery mobile application available on Google, App Store, and App Gallery to make brand information, products, and services more accessible. It allowed people to search for an canvass Chery cars when they weren’t allowed to leave their homes.
Chery PH also introduced a new brand ambassador, superstar Coco Martin, who endorsed the Tiggo crossovers. The company also sponsored the Chery Tiggo Crossovers volleyball team and focused on offline efforts through print and out-of-home advertisements.
Sytin said the Brand Breakthrough Award for the Philippines is an indication that Chery has been and will be striving harder.
“With this, we have gained more confidence that with our relentless efforts to build the brand, more and more Filipino consumers will get to know and appreciate the compelling value proposition of the Chery Tiggo models and put more of these in their garages,” Sytin concluded.
