The Mazda milestones
A lot can happen in 10 years, and for the people behind Bermaz Auto Group (BAP), also known as Mazda Philippines, they made the most out of every single second.
Over that time, they launched ten vehicles in the market: the Mazda2, Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-3, CX-30, CX-5, CX-8, CX-9, MX-5, and BT-50. That is one new model every year, and each comes with Yojin3. It was the country’s first bundled warranty with three-year roadside assistance and three-year free periodic maintenance service. In 2020, they extended it to a five-year free service plan.
Along the way, they also opened up sixteen full-service dealerships across the archipelago that offered sales, service, and spare parts (including repair). In that period, they ranked first in the J.D. Power Customer Service Index (CSI) twice, in 2016 and 2019.
That alone is sales, marketing, and after-sales service work on a superhero level from one of the leanest teams in the industry. Yet, they still found time on weekends to build relationships by spending time and going on drives with passionate members of different Mazda car clubs.
But that is not what impressed me the most with their ten years in the country. On top of the launches, dealership openings, promotional campaigns, test drives, and car club events, they made a difference in the lives of Filipinos and are a difference maker in environmental awareness.
It all starts from the net-zero Mazda Center of Excellence. This 2.5-hectare warehouse and training facility generates its own electricity—up to 145,000 kWh annually using its 270 solar panels. It also harvests and stores up to 135,000 liters of rainwater which can be used to wash Mazda vehicles before delivery and for general housekeeping.
Mazda Philippines has been a consistent partner of MFI (MERALCO Foundation, Inc.) Polytechnic Institute. Their collaboration has helped 230 students graduate and become financially independent. Some ended up working for Mazda Philippines, its dealers, and even for other brands in the local automotive industry.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they initiated the Food for Heroes program. Fresh, homecooked meals were distributed to 6,000 frontliners across four hospitals over three months.
They are the first local brand to participate in a carbon offset program with Pilipinas Shell. It involves calculating the overall fuel expenditure and associated CO2 emissions of the Mazda PH fleet. Pilipinas Shell then purchases carbon credits to offset those emissions from a global portfolio of nature-based projects. Last year, they offset 11 tons of carbon dioxide from their fleet’s overall fuel expenditure.
Another one of their carbon-offsetting programs happens locally. In cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Mazda PH employees will plant 500 trees over five years on one hectare of land in Siniloan, Laguna. This year, they have already planted 200 trees.
Mazda PH is also saving the endangered Philippine Pangolin through the Katala Foundation and is raising awareness over Mt. Pulag National Park’s fragile ecosystem by producing a 10-minute educational video for mountaineers and trekkers to watch before hiking up the country’s third highest peak.
Globally, the automaker is instituting a multi-solution approach that will introduce an appropriate powertrain option depending on each country’s energy policies and mix. It aims to reduce its CO2 emissions to 50 percent of 2010 levels by 2030, to achieve a 90 percent reduction by 2050.
“Mazda has gone a long way since we started back in 2012. We could not have done it without the support of our dealer partners, our owners, the various Mazda clubs, and the media. You guys have always been part of it and have always been there for us,” said Steven Tan, president of Bermaz Auto Philippines.