Will Foton be able to turn the fate around for Chery in the PH?

MANILA: Remember Chery? The Chinese auto brand that arrived in the Philippines in the year 2007 and continued to do business till 2014 before saying goodbye to the Philippine automobile market. There wasn't much wrong with the pricing of the Chery cars, but the after-sales service and the availability of parts created a mess for Chery and never allowed the automaker to create its space in the Philippines and the hearts of the Filipinos. Something that further explains the failure of the Chinese brand in the country is the frequent change of management and companies which managed the brand in the Philippines.

So, what now? What makes the return of the Chinese auto brand in the country special and gives hope of a possibly more successful stint than before? The reason is simple, the guys working in tandem with Chery this time around are led by none other than Rommel Sytin, who manages Foton and has taken the Chinese automobile brand to new heights over the last couple of years. Chery itself announced last year that it was looking for a distributor in the Philippines, and that's where things between Rommel Sytin group and Chery started. Sytin, along with his teammates, visited China last year and had a good look at the proposition.

Before United Auctioneers, the likes of the Universal Motors Corporation, the Columbian group, and the LICA Group had also looked at the possibilities of a return of Chery in the Philippines. Currently, the UMC manages Nissan Philippines, whereas Mahindra and Peugeot are taken care of by the Columbian group. Lastly, LICA Group is managing a multi-brand automobile dealership network that includes Chevrolet, Hyundai, Foton, Honda, and Subaru.

Will Rommel Sytin and Co. be able to revisit the journey that they have travelled with Foton? Well, considering the improved quality and the liking of the Filipinos for Chinese cars in recent times, the new journey for Chery in the country in conjunction with Rommel Sytin and his group should be nothing but interesting. A dismantled image in the market is the first thing that Sytin will have to work on once he brings Chery back to the Philippines. For now, all we can say is, let's see what the future holds for Chery in the Philippines.

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