Geely PH working on customer service, parts supply

Today Geely's official distributor in the country, Sojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP), launched the Emgrand; a new subcompact car that will be a very competitive one in the segment.

Geely has earned a reputation as a disruptor in the Philippine automobile market, shaking up the established order by offering products that are reshaping customer expectations in their respective classes. The Emgrand is another such model, especially given the styling, the price, and more.

But the important question from existing Geely customers is this: How is the brand working to improve their after-sales and maintenance services?

Geely's growth since they introduced the brand in 2019 has been outstanding for a relatively untested Chinese automobile marque in a country that has been dominated by Japanese and Korean auto brands. But the after-sales service has had a hard time keeping up with the growing number of customers; actually last year alone, Geely almost tripled their sales versus 2020's numbers.

On that topic, Yosuke Nishi, the president and CEO of SGAP, stated that they are well aware of the situation, and they are working hard to address the shortcomings in after-sales. For one, they are expanding the dealer network; more dealers mean more technicians and more service bays to accommodate customer cars.

Nishi-san says that they have changed the “parts ordering logic” so as to keep up with demand; he did not elaborate as to what that exactly means, but most likely it involves expanding their stocks of parts beyond just fast-moving consumables like filters, spark plugs, and the like. One of the bigger complaints by Geely customers is the lack of collision-related components like bumpers, body panels, and even suspension components.

SGAP's CEO also spoke of other measures like a new customer hotline and the like, but hopefully, there won't be a need for it if after-sales and service improve considerably. Given that their models have been success stories thus far, we expect the Emgrand to further challenge their service network because of its attractive pricing and specs.

Let's see how this plays out for Geely in the Philippines.