Conglomerate Ayala Corp. has consolidated its car dealership and industrial operations into a wholly owned subsidiary that seeks to play a bigger role in manufacturing and contribute to the country’s rise into a Southeast Asian industrial hub.
The unit called AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc. (AC Industrials) will house Ayala’s car dealership businesses across the Honda, Isuzu, and Volkswagen brands as well as the existing and future assets of global electronics manufacturing service provider Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. It will hold distributorship interests such as the 13-percent stake in Honda Cars Philippines Inc. the 15-percent stake in Isuzu Philippines Corp. and the wholly owned interests in Automobile Central Enterprise Inc., the official Philippine importer and distributor of Volkswagen and in Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc., the official motorcycle distributor of KTM in the Philippines.
Manufacturing operations for KTM AG, the group’s new motorcycle partnership under KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., will also be housed under AC Industrials.
The group seeks to partner with the government to bolster the local manufacturing sector and increase the demand in full product supply chains globally.
AC Industrials chief executive officer Arthur Tan said: “There are a lot of service-based industries available in the country, but to really drive that engine for growth and sustainability, you also need a manufacturing pillar. And in an ideal setting, we want the Philippines to be a manufacturing hub for the Asean market. But we are not precluding ourselves because we can also be an Asean partner,” Tan said.
Ayala Automotive has 1,900 employees nationwide and 22 dealerships.
On the other hand, IMI employs 40,000 people worldwide, 4,340 of which are Philippine-based.
AC Industrials will also begin manufacturing operations for KTM AG, a partnership between Ayala and KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., the world’s fourth largest motorcycle firm.
The partnership, which will begin operations within the first quarter of 2017, will build and export motorcycles, particularly to China.
“We want to prove that the Philippines can be a hub not only in Asean but also for the world, that we can provide competitively, a complete product designed, built and manufactured here in the Philippines and be competitive on a global basis. That’s the ultimate goal,” said Tan. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla