Toti Zara to lead BYD PH; wants 12 dealers in first year
Zara wants to build a strong dealer network for BYD
It’s officially official: BYD is now under Ayala Corporation’s AC Motors. This comes after Ayala Corporation recently finalized the deal to be the new official Philippine distributor of BYD in the country.
Newly-appointed AC Motors head Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala shared that this partnership between one of the largest multi-brand automotive groups in the country and the world-leading EV company is a cornerstone of the group’s ultimate goal of accelerating the future of mobility in the country.
“Our long-term vision is for AC Motors to become the leading platform for EVs and other new energy vehicles in the Philippines. This includes building up BYD to become a key brand in the Philippine market, with a leading share among EV brands and meaningful presence in the automotive market as a whole,” added Zobel de Ayala.
But who will actually be leading the company under the new distributorship? Zobel de Ayala shared that there will be a new holding company that will incorporate BYD Philippines under the AC Motors family. In addition, the said holding company will subsequently hold the infrastructure, resources, and the BYD business itself. More importantly, industry veteran Toti Zara will be the president and CEO of BYD Philippines, besides his other roles in AC Motors.
Zara’s role in BYD Philippines will be to provide synergy within the brand portfolios and maximize the strengths of BYD and the other AC Motors brands. Zara’s main role will be to grow the BYD business.
“We cannot rely on BYD technology alone. We need to communicate the BYD story, we need to communicate the technology, and we need to have a strong dealer network established in the Philippines. Within the first 12 months, we intend to have 12 outlets. These 12 outlets will be dedicated for BYD and within that 12, Solar (the previous distributor of BYD in PH) will play a very critical role,” said Zara.
The executive added that Solar Transport & Automotive Resources (STAR) already has an outlet in Makati and they plan to open another location with STAR which will likely be Quezon City.
Besides expanding and strengthening the dealer network, Zara added that they will have an aggressive product portfolio which will include the all-new Atto 3 which will be launched within the year. Currently, BYD PH sells the Dolphin, Han, and the Tang.
As far as pricing is concerned, Zara mentioned that while they cannot yet disclose the exact pricing of the vehicles under AC Motors, he did say that they will now be able to price them competitively thanks to the EVIDA law.
“We will have a stronger brand, a stronger dealer network, and a stronger product portfolio at price points that are now within reach of more Filipinos. We are coming in at the right time with EVIDA with the exception of import duties and excise tax, so BYD products and its technologies will be made more accessible.
