PGA’s new raging bull charges in January as Audi and Porsche earn top marques
It was a busy year for PGA, the country’s distributor for Audi and Porsche cars and it will be busier next year as PGA recently got the distributorship to Lamborghini as well. Audi’s sales went up by 9 percent this year as PGA introduced the flagship A8L model as well as the A6 and very sexy A7 sedans and the high performance RS5 model.
Aside from this, PGA also introduced the Audi R8 GT and Q3 compact SUV coupe crossover model. The ultra limited Audi R8 GT is the fastest Audi to date. Fast in terms of land speed and it is fast off the proverbial shelf as well. Only three official imports arrived last month and all of which are committed already to three lucky owners. Only 333 units of these R8 GT’s were produced and allocations were very scarce. Comparatively speaking, 33 made it to UK and 90 units made it to the US markets.
While Porsche’s unit sales went down by 18 percent because of limited allocation given to the RP market of the newly launched 2nd generation Cayenne, PGA is expecting better figures next year as the highly anticipated 911 model will be launched by the first quarter of next year. Dubbed as model 991, it had its world premiere last month and had a very warm reception due to its purity in the 911 lineage and better overall performance.
Fueled by a global high demand for this model, the new Cayenne suffered delays in production and being the best-selling model for PGA, it naturally suffered some setbacks in sales volumes. Aside from the Cayenne, a diesel variant was also introduced this year together with the Cayman R and Panamera Turbo S models.
Audi’s market share is about 15 percent while Porsche has 5 percent in the luxury car market and is expected to maintain its share largely due to a loyal customer and brand following.
PGA is also a major sponsor of Clark Speedway so naturally it held several track days for the media and special customers, among which were the Panamera Track Day last March and the PGA cars track day and Audi Quattro Cup held last November.
JD Powers awarded Porsche the “Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study (APEAL)”. Given by J.D. Power and Associates, a globally renowned American market research institute, it also considers Porsche as the most attractive car brand in the USA.
Esquire Magazine gave its 2011 Car of the Year Award to the Audi A7 while the Audi R8 GT got the Sports Car of the Year. The Porsche 911 also was given the best resale value and Audi is considered the sportiest cars of 2011 according to a recent reader survey in the US. Aside from brand and design recognitions, both brands also proved their dominance in the race track by winning the 2011 24 Hours of LeMans (Audi) and 24 Hours Endurance race in Nurburgring (Porsche) while the Audi A4 is the DTM Champion for the year.
PGA is also credited in establishing the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia (PTRCA), together with the Don Bosco Technical Institute.
This year, its fifth and sixth batch of graduates totals to over 90 scholars who have earned their skills and training as Porsche mechanics with jobs waiting for them in other Porsche markets throughout the world. The most recent batch will be assigned to Abu Dhabi with guaranteed board and lodging as well as travel expenses. PTRCA was established in 2008, through the partnership of Porsche, PGA Cars and Don Bosco Technical Institute and is considered as the first training facility outside Germany.
Recently, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. appointed PGA as the Philippine sole importer and distributor for the Italian supercar brand. Its first showroom, Lamborghini Manila, will be the first Lamborghini facility in the country and is slated to open in Bonifacio Global City by January. The new Lamborghini showroom will be built in accordance with Lamborghini’s international showroom standards. Although there were no official figures released as of press time, PGA intimated that the first of its three shipments of Lamborghini Gallardos are already sold out.
