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‘Santa’ Fe’s Holiday Surprise

‘Santa’ Fe’s Holiday Surprise

Tessa R. Salazar

Former Hyundai ‘Iron Lady’ takes over Chevrolet, KG Mobility brands in PH

Christmas 2023 will have opposite meanings for two groups of people. On one hand, Maria Fe Perez Agudo—president and CEO of Hariphil Asia Resources Inc. (HARI, distributor of Hyundai trucks and buses) and president of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc.—and her team have taken over the business of The Covenant Car Company Inc. (TCCCI), exclusive distributor of Chevrolet and KG Mobility in the Philippines. Agudo herself confirmed this move to this author last Friday, but provided no more details other than advising us to wait for the official press briefing.
On the other hand, there’s the OG TCCCI team, led by its president and CEO Atty. Albert Arcilla and EVP and marketing services director Lyn Manalansang Buena, who along with their staff, have nurtured TCCCI and its brands for over two decades.
And even as Agudo confirmed the takeover to this author more than two days ago, Buena said her group has yet to receive a formal notice of the takeover.
“I’m unable to provide any more information regarding the changes that are taking place in TCCCI, in deference to Miss Agudo,” Buena said.
And so it goes, as the “old guard” at TCCCI is left in the dark about such rapidly developing matters, Agudo already has her sights on a bright future with her “new” TCCCI.
“It is at once humbling and challenging to be entrusted with leading Chevrolet and KG Mobility to new heights of relevance in today’s market. With my new team, we look forward to crafting a refreshed customer experience for both brands. We are ready to step into a new and exciting 2024. Here’s to a blessed Christmas and a hope-filled New Year,” Agudo sent this SMS to me last Friday, signing it off with her new designation: “President, TCCCI.”
A takeover such as this is akin to an earthquake. There’s no warning. But there are subtle hints. At the KG Mobility Philippines launch last Nov. 20, there were no announcements, let alone whispers, of a change in leadership. The one telling sign was the unexplained and unusual absence of Arcilla. Otherwise, Buena and other TCCCI executives, such as senior AVP and director for national sales service Chris L. Yu and KGM PH’s SVP and director Dave Zaballero were all smiles and very optimistic of the success of the South Korean marque in the country.
All the main characters in this still unfolding story are pillars of the automotive industry.
Arcilla has more than 20 years of automotive experience, and has led the company to re-ignite the popularity of the Chevrolet brand in the Philippines, helping the country become one of the recognized Chevrolet distributors in South East Asia.
Buena handled the Chevrolet brand right off the bat when TCCCI acquired it in 2009, and she also handled the MG brand which TCCCI also acquired in October 2018. She was also former VP and marketing head of Volvo Philippines, another brand that saw success in the country.
Agudo steered HARI and its Hyundai passenger cars and LCVs to top-level sales in the country, peaking at number 3 among all car manufacturers from 2012 to 2014, and again from 2016 to 2018, behind perennial leaders Toyota and Mitsubishi. Agudo was also president and CEO of Changan Motor Philippines when it re-entered the local market in 2020, a position she kept until August 2023 when Inchcape Philippines became the Chinese car brand’s new distributor.
TCCCI—a wholly Filipino-owned company—began business operations in October 2009. At the helm of the Board of Directors is chair Jose L. Cuisia Jr., alongside chair emeritus Richard L. Lee, who lends close to 50 years of automotive experience and business acumen to the company. Lee is also chair emeritus of HARI.
What now, of the future of Chevrolet and KGM PH that the old TCCCI team so enthusiastically discussed less than a month ago? There, Zaballero said of KG Mobility, which was formerly Ssangyong, “We are embracing the history of the brand in its entirety, with all its peaks and troughs. Only in this way can we plan a better future…in the Philippine market. As for the ‘fresh start,’ we are laying the foundation for such with the introduction of the new brand—KG Mobility—under the auspices a new distributor—TCCCI—entering the market with a new strategy and a refreshed product offer, to be sold through a new dealer network. We will follow through in 2024 with programs and activities that will set the tone for KGM’s active participation in the segments it is serving and in the larger auto market, as well.”
I had no idea, then, that Zaballero’s words would also somewhat echo those of Agudo for her “new” TCCCI.