How the Covid-19 pandemic has affected auto industry leaders
By Rommel Sytin, Chairman, United Asia Automotive Group Inc. (Chery and Foton Philippines)
“This pandemic taught us a lot of lessons. But if there’s one thing it really drove home, it’s to realize and accept how important it is to go back to basics. Whether you’re considering the effects of the pandemic on business or your personal life—especially seeing the loss of lives, jobs, and the closure of businesses due to Covid—one must learn that we must never lose focus on the most basic yet most important aspects of our lives: family, friends, and health.
Having said that, the five lessons, for business and specifically for the car industry, can basically be broken down into the five Ps:
Product
You can’t survive a normal business climate if you don’t have a product that the market needs or wants. What more if you’re in business during a crisis. The right product is crucial. Of course, having the right product also means having a quality product. Consumers may be attracted to your product or service, but if you can’t give them high quality, they’ll stop buying. We’re happy and proud to have just the right mix of world-class models in our Foton and Chery brands and even in our new Mutt Motorcycles.
Price
A high-quality product that people are looking for may still fail on the marketplace if it’s priced too high or if consumers don’t see the value of the prices you’re asking for. We make sure the prices of our Chery crossovers, Foton light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles, and our new Mutt Motorcycles are all well within the price ranges expected by our customers.
People
Just as crucial to a car company’s success as having the right product and the right price is having the right people. By that I mean employing capable and motivated people and giving them the right compensation, training and motivation to continue delivering quality service to both our internal and external customers.
Press
One should never underestimate the power of the press. It may sound cliché now, but it’s as timely and relevant as ever. Of course, by “press” I don’t just mean traditional print and broadcast media. We live in a digital world where you need to make sure you communicate your message not just to mainstream media, but to the new generation of communicators like bloggers, vloggers, influencers, YouTubers, Tiktokers and other social media players.
Prayers
My fifth lesson is something I learned from my parents and from school as a young boy. And that is to never cease praying whether in good times or bad. And now that we’re in a pandemic, praying harder and more often than ever.”
Compiled by Tessa Salazar
