VERY, very recently, a bevy of new Chinese car brands have entered our market, some even doing so without actually having a physical presence in the country. This really shows how much of a motor vehicle market the Philippines is for both manufacturers and assemblers.
A month ago, some friends from China reached out to us and asked us to attend the online launch of the new Chinese car brand Omoda. Surprisingly, these Chinese car executives were here first to reinforce the marketing campaign of Chery, another Chinese brand making inroads into our SUV market with hybrid and electric units. The distribution of the vehicles under that brand is led by our good friend Rommel Sytin of Foton fame.
Now, we learned that another friend in the industry, Uzzi Asuncion (who used to handle marketing for Motor Image Pilipinas Subaru), will be the brand manager for Omoda Philippines prior to its formal launch in the Philippines late this month. I'd like to extend my congratulations to Uzzi (John Ezekiel Asuncion formally), as I am sure he will do a bang up job.
Another Chinese brand about to hit local shores is Hongqi, a brand from car conglomerate FAW. Hongqi will be introduced by the distributors of Weltmeister Motors, makers of the fully electric car W5, this March.
And then there's Jetour Cars, which is another branch of Chery that sent me an invitation for their launch this week. Its new product series is made by Chery Holdings of China.
Put those brands I mentioned together with Foton, Changan, Geely, Chery, Greatwall, Haval and FAW, we have more Chinese brands vying for attention in the Philippine market compared to the Japanese, South Korean and American brands combined.
And with the technology transfer Chinese car makers are getting from buying bankrupt car companies worldwide, we cannot say that Chinese vehicles have quality as terrible as it was some 15 to 20 years ago.
No more COC for ride-hailing cars
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has just come out with their latest memorandum removing the need to present a certificate of compliance (COC) for drivers who wish to enroll their cars to ride hailing apps as transport network vehicle service (TNVS) units.
This should make it easier for car owners who wish to make money by using their cars as carpool services for transport network companies like Grab.
COCs are documents that the LTFRB previously required from TNVS applicants before they can be issued provisional permits for cars to be allowed to join Grab and other TNVS operators. These are certifications from banks where the cars are amortized that allows the units to be used for taxi or limousine service.
Previously, almost 80 percent of failures to acquire permits to become a TNVS was due to these requirements. Because as we know, banks will always be hesitant to issue this form of certification for cars they still practically own.
With the removal of the COC requirement, TNVS applicants will have an easier time applying for their provisional permits to operate under ride-hailing apps, easing the very constricted demand we have now for this kind of public transportation.
According to Grab, the industry needs about 100,000 units to service the requirements of Metro Manila alone. For now, there are about 25,000 units servicing the demand, causing difficulty in acquiring a ride among commuters.