What they are saying: ‘At Toyota, Filipinos are split equally between SUV fans and passenger car buyers; We find that the Honda brand is really loved by the Filipino community; Filipinos are one of the large communities who favor Mitsubishi cars. Our Filipino footfall at JAC and Chery is quite high at a little more than 20%.
Owing to their sheer number and obvious love for cars, automotive dealers have Filipinos in mind when rolling out their deals for the Holy Month.
DUBAI: Mitsubishi, Honda and Toyota – even JAC AND Chery – all believe they are the Filipino community’s choice for a car which is why these companies have apparently kept Pinoys in mind when coming up with their Ramadan deals.
The Filipino Times asked car dealers and all came back saying they are the Pinoys’ preferred brand owing to pricing, durability, fuel efficiency availability of parts and resell value.
“There is a strong brand loyalty among Honda owners and we find that the Honda brand is really loved by the Filipino community. (Filipinos) buy across the Honda range but there is a strong affinity towards the sporty sedans particularly the Honda City and Civic,” said Fardeen Sara, sales and operations general Manager at Al-Futtaim Honda.
Saud Abbasi, Al-Futtaim Toyota managing director, for his part said the company “expects to see a boost in sales among our Toyota Filipino fans.”
“We have just launched our newest 7-seater SUV, the Toyota Rush, which is an ideal choice for those families who want to enjoy the lifestyle of an SUV at a price of a small passenger car,” said Abbasi, adding that the Rush is available at only Dh68,500 and offers great driving performance, excellent fuel efficiency and ample cabin space.
“We know that Filipinos appreciate not only the stylish designs, but also the unrivalled performance and fuel economy that comes with it. They are split equally between SUV fans and passenger car buyers,” he said.
Abbasi said RAV 4 has traditionally dominated SUV sales among Filipinos, followed by Fortuner.
“But this year, thanks to the launch of our newest 7-Seater SUV, the new Toyota Rush, we expect the car to be one of the most attractive products among Filipinos thanks to its unbeatable fuel economy, space and versatility,” he said.
Rush is unique in that it combines the space and solid road performance of a large SUV, with top level-leading fuel economy performance, and Toyota-guaranteed dependability, all packaged in a stylishly designed body, said Abbasi.
C.V. Ravin, sales general manager at Al Habtoor Motors, Co. meantime said Filipinos “form a considerable part of the total inquiry at about 15% to 20% in certain segment of the cars.”
“Filipinos are one of the large communities who favor Mitsubishi cars,” said Ravin. “Mitsubishi is favored by all for its great value for money proposition and extensive service network and economical ownership,” he added.
Meantime, Sriram Iyer, Al Habtoor Co. brand manager for JAC and Chery said their Filipino footfall is “quite high at a little more than 20%.”
“They typically buy the new generation sedans like the Arrizo range from Chery. The compact SUVs such as the JAC S3 and Chery Tiggo3 are very popular among our Filipino clientele. Those looking for the latest technology and trendy features but at an affordable budget find their match in the Chery Tiggo7 and Tiggo5,” Iyer said.
It will be noted that there are several Filipino car clubs across the UAE with specific car brand preferences – Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi Lancer among them. Also, the number of Filipino car owners across the UAE are reportedly in the thousands.
At Toyota, majority of Filipino buyers come from Dubai, while the median age for both male and female buyers is 35-44 years old, followed closely by 25-34 across both segments. Male buyers account for 54% of Filipino buyers, according to Abbasi.
