Geely PH: Ready for Redemption?
We have a chat with new Geely PH president Naoyuki Takeda
There is nothing quite like a story of redemption.
Some of the great comeback stories include the names of Niki Lauda, Winston Churchill, and Tiger Woods. We don’t even have to go far: many of us thought Manny Pacquiao was done after losing to Erik Morales in 2005, but he came back to beat a lot of great names that came across his path. And even when he lost again, he came back again to win.
In our small but very diverse automobile market that has become the ultra-competitive battleground of many of China’s largest automobile brands and conglomerates, the standout is undoubtedly Geely. They wowed us in 2019 with their Coolray, impressed us again in 2020 with the Azkarra, captured the imagination of the family MPV market in 2021 with the Okavango, and the entry-level sedan shopper in 2022 with the Emgrand.
2023, however, proved to be a very different year than what Geely’s distributor here had envisioned. While they did launch a new model that was packed with potential in the GX3 Pro, their progress was hampered by a customer service crisis that emerged on social media. Their silence only made it worse, and so it blew up.
Many thought that this was it for the brand. Some even thought that the distributor might be swapped for another. But it doesn’t work that way. They are here to stay, and they want to do right.
We finally got a chance to visit the people at Sojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP) during a recent event. As you can imagine, they haven’t had an easy time as of late, but it wasn’t because they took a hit, but rather because they’ve been busy working. They’ve been working to revamp and reinvigorate their service, and we can see it at their flagship dealer in North EDSA. Actually, I snuck away from the main event to take a look at what was going on in the back.
A dealership’s service area is a place I’m very familiar with; I did work at a dealership early in my career, and it’s always nice to see everyone moving with a purpose. I’ve been to GNE’s service area many times (this is normally where we park before) and I can see they’re busier than ever. The technicians seem to be working with a purpose, buttoning up their PMS jobs as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Completed cars are being shuffled from the bays to the exit, while another enters the bay just vacated. It’s moving like clockwork.
In the back, I took a peek at the body and paint area. Many customers have lamented the lack of common collision-related parts for Geely models. Bumpers, headlights, and key body panels were in short supply back then, but not anymore. Cars were getting their much-needed replacement parts, many of which were in the paint booth where work was being done to bring the color to the right shade. That’s what you want to see from a dealership in a country where owners take great pride in their vehicles when it comes to aesthetics. That’s why we have such a huge car wash industry here.
Just when I was about to start talking to the staff, the PR people found me. I’m really not supposed to be back there, but these are the things I like to really look at. They wanted to introduce the new president: Naoyuki Takeda.
I wanted to keep it quiet from Geely’s PR people that we already met Takeda several years back; something that was made apparent when we saw each other again. This is a good guy to have at the helm because he has been posted here before with another Sojitz venture prior to Geely: that would be at Mitsubishi Motors Philippines.
That is a good sign because he has already been immersed in the Philippines, enjoys talking with us, and will gladly share a meal and drink with us (maybe a little less of the latter). Being a Sojitz man through and through, knows how to engage and interact with the dealer base, the media, and customers.
We will have plenty of time to break bread again, but for now, Takeda wasted no time. “My first priority is to improve the after-sales services and the customer service satisfaction and to regain the trust,” said SGAP’s new president. He went straight to business.
We can see the change: parts supplies seem to be better and there are no new issues that have come to light or have gone unaddressed. It’s all quiet on the North EDSA front, and everyone is just busy moving on and fulfilling their roles. There’s new life breathed into the brand, and they’re looking to really revamp what the customer can expect from the dealers.
“After I came here, I myself visited the dealers one by one,” continued Takeda. “I want to strengthen the relationship with them. They are our customers too. We have to support them.”
One of the least glamorous (and thus least talked about) aspects of the domestic auto business is the relationship between the dealers and the brand or the “mothership”. Sometimes the latter is an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) that builds cars here, but more often it’s an importer and/or distributor. That relationship is key because the dealerships are a brand’s frontliners. They need support to do well be that in information, training, parts supplies, unit allocations, sales promotions, and more.
“It is still far from perfect. There is no perfect in this field. If we achieve something, of course the customer wants more. We have to keep improving,” continued Takeda. He's talking about kaizen.
I had to ask him what his rollout plan is for new models, especially since many competitors have newer generation models that are already in the market. Customers are clamoring for more features from Geely, especially ones considered essential now like advanced safety and improved smartphone connectivity. He says they have a plan and want to launch as soon as possible, but they still need to finalize a few things.
As we conclude the few minutes of interview we had with him, we walk down to the main showroom floor to take a peek at the Geometry C. They say they’re not launching it yet, but rather Geely will be testing it around to see how viable it is given its driving characteristics, advanced safety, and of course its range. I keep pestering him for a price, but he won’t divulge. Maybe later he will.
Geely Philippines took a big hit last year, but it didn’t knock them out. They got knocked back. It is never an easy task to win back trust, but anything is possible. It takes a lot of effort to get ready for redemption, and it cannot just be from the top down. It has to be everyone from the management, from the many departments, from the dealers, to the individual sales associates and the technicians.
How are they doing so far? Well, perhaps it’s better if the customers chime in on that one. I am just an observer. The real results will be experienced by the customers. So let us know.
