What do pizzas and SUVs, or beer and exotic sports cars have to do with each other? The answer might surprise you. Some of the country’s top auto brands are controlled by companies (and families) in very diversified fields. While there are many large companies out there, we'll mainly focus on those with multiple interests in the automotive industry or with notably large stakes in other industries.
You might already be aware of a few, such as the Metrobank Group owning Toyota and Lexus distribution in the Philippines, or Ayala Corp and its diversified automobile portfolio. Yet there are many more companies that have invested in the automobile industry with ties to completely different fields.
We go through a few of the country’s distributors as well as some fields they dabble in to give you a better idea of who might be behind your favorite car brands.
Metrobank Group
Easily one of the veterans in this list is the Metrobank Group. Founded by George S.K. Ty, the bank was at one point one of the top three in the country. Among Metrobank's subsidiaries are Philippine Savings Bank, Manila Doctors Hospital, and Philippine AXA Life Insurance. The group is part of GT Capital Holdings which owns Federal Land and runs hotels like the Grand Hyatt in BGC, Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, and Mitsukoshi Mall.
Not surprisingly, the group was approached by Toyota of Japan after the financial crisis in the 80s to restart Toyota operations in the country. Despite knowing little about the car industry at the time, the group persevered and is proud to be the distributor of the country’s number 1 car brand, Toyota. Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) operates a vehicle assembly plant in Santa Rosa Laguna that produces the Vios and Innova. It also distributes Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus. Toyota also has affiliates like Toyota Financial Services, and Kinto One leasing. It also operates the TMP Tech school in Santa Rosa, Toyota Makati, Toyota Cubao, Toyota Manila Bay, as well as Lexus Manila.
Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC)
Yet another banking group with interests in the automotive field is YGC. The conglomerate behind RCBC and Malayan insurance also counts EEI Corp. and Petro Energy Resources as its subsidiaries. It is also involved with Honda Cars Philippines and Isuzu Philippines, Corp. as well as holds a minority stake in Sojitz G Auto, distributor of Geely cars. The YGC group, through House of Investments, Inc., operates Honda Cars Kalookan, Honda Cars Quezon City, Isuzu Manila, and Geely Manila.
AC Industrials
AC Industrials is a subsidiary of the Ayala Corporation and is the arm responsible for all of Ayala’s mobility products. Ayala itself needs no introduction, being the conglomerate behind the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Ayala Land, Ayala Malls, and Globe Telecom.
The AC Industrials name may be new, but Ayala has already been operating in the auto industry for several decades. Ayala was one of the first dealers of Honda cars in the early 90s. It also has a stake in and operates dealers of Isuzu Philippines, Corp.
Today, AC Industrials is the sole distributor of brands like Kia, Volkswagen, Maxus, and BYD. It also has moved into the two-wheel segment, with brands like KTM and Husqvarna, and soon, Hero. New electric motorcycle brand, Gogoro, is actually under Globe's 917Ventures and not under AC Industrials.
San Miguel Corporation
It’s quite hard to list everything San Miguel Corp. (SMC) produces, being one of the most highly diversified in the country. Nonetheless, many are already familiar with their staples, San Miguel Beer, Pure Foods, and Petron Corporation. Besides food and beverage, San Miguel has also dabbled in various industries like infrastructure, now controlling toll roads like SLEX, Skyway, NAIAX, and TPLEx. It was even, at one point, the parent company of Philippine Airlines. It is now building the new Manila airport.
What good are toll roads and fuel stations without the vehicles to run on them? That’s likely why San Miguel has taken control of premier automotive brands, BMW, BMW Motorrad (the motorcycle division) and Ferrari in the country. Ferrari is its most recent acquisition, having been awarded the distributorship earlier this year with a flagship dealership now under construction.
Inchcape-CATS (iCATS)
Inchcape might be a new name to some but CATS Motors certainly isn’t. Founded by Felix R. Ang and Greg Yu, the company first started with car accessories, tires, and service, hence the CATS acronym. It was an authorized service center for Mercedes-Benz cars. It was soon awarded distributorship of Mercedes-Benz cars in the country, turning its enviable location along EDSA into the showroom. At the time, Mercedes-Benz was under the Daimler Group which also controlled Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler brands. Not surprisingly, these too were later awarded to CATS following its favorable results with Mercedes-Benz. The CATS portfolio has since grown to include a couple of Harley-Davidson dealerships. It was later renamed to Auto Nation Group (ANG) and soon got Land Rover and Jaguar.
Just this year, Inchcape, a UK-based distributor acquired a large stake in ANG and acquired the distributorship for Changan cars shortly after.
Autohub Group
The Autohub Group is another company with a broad portfolio of brands. Headed by Willy Tee Ten who used to work at an alcohol distillery, he’s now turned his group into a veritable one-stop-shop for automotive needs.
Autohub Group is the sole distributor of Rolls-Royce cars, Pagani, Lotus, Mini, Shelby, as well as Triumph and Vespa motorcycles.
It also has dealers of Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Suzuki, MG, Kia, Mazda, Geely, Chery, and Foton. They’re also the distributor of V-Kool tint. Accessories, maintenance and repairs, be it for cars or motorcycles shouldn’t be a problem either with affiliate companies like ACCS, Moto ACCS, Nexthub, Painthub, Carhub, and Renthub. And should you prefer flying, Autohub also has you covered with Aerohub, which rents out helicopters.
PGA Cars
Yet another veteran in the industry is PGA Cars. Its parent company is Prudential Guarantee and Assurance, an insurance company. PGA Cars has been the long-time distributor of Audi and Porsche cars in the country. It also distributes the more high-end of the Volkswagen Auto Group (VAG) brands, Lamborghini and Bentley. It also operates a couple of Petron stations.
PGA Cars is quite comfortable with their ultra-luxury niche, giving customers even more reason to visit their EDSA showroom with the addition of a posh Antonio’s Restaurant branch in its complex.
Laus Group
If you’re buying a car in Pampanga, chances are, you’ve come across the Laus Group. Founded by Liberato 'Levy' Laus, the group is behind the automotive row along Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Pampanga. It has dealers of nearly every automotive brand along that strip. It is also the distributor of Haima and BAIC cars in the country.
Besides being dealers of automotive and motorcycle brands, the Laus Group also has interests in properties, restaurants, media like print and radio, as well as operates an events center and hotel.
Gateway and Licup
One of the newest auto brands in the country, Jetour, is brought in by a union of two large dealer groups; that of the Gateway group and the Licup group. Gateway Motors is a force to reckon with in Cebu, with dealers of brands like Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, Peugeot, MG, Geely, Chery, Subaru, Chevrolet, Changan, Volvo, Maxus, GAC, Volkswagen, Foton, and Fuso. Licup also has dealers of Chery, MG, Nissan, Geely, Chevrolet. Despite both carrying dealers of similar brands, which would make them rivals, it’s interesting to see two dealer groups unite to bring in a new car brand.
The Lee family
Easily one of the oldest families involved in the Philippine auto business is the Lee family. This group of relatives has ties to companies behind brands like Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Hyundai, Peugeot, Volvo, Chevrolet, MG, and KG Mobility.
One of the family's earliest ventures was Universal Motors Corporation (UMC). UMC was a former distributor of Mercedes-Benz cars. Commercial Motors (CMC), also with ties to the family, was distributor of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles (vehicles built on truck platforms) and also built passenger cars locally (particularly the W123 E-Class).
Some may also remember UMC as a distributor of Nissan commercial vehicles in the 90s and early 2000s like the Frontier, Urvan, Terrano, and Patrol, before distributorship was consolidated with Nissan passenger cars to form one company. In fact, the Frontier and Urvan were among the vehicles proudly assembled locally by UMC for over a decade. UMC later on distributed BAIC cars for a short period.
The family also has ties with former Hyundai distributor, Hyundai Asia Resources (HARI). It was also, at one point, a distributor of Peugeot. These days, the family is still an active player in the automotive arena with The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI) and Scandinavian Cars (SCI, formerly Viking), distributor of Volvo cars.
Some buyers should be familiar with The Covenant Car Company, which took the reigns of Chevrolet in the Philippines some decades back. We have TCCCI to thank for bringing exciting Chevrolet models like the Camaro, Corvette, and Malibu. You’ll also know you’re buying from A TCCCI brand thanks to their trademark ‘888’ pricing (e.g. P1,488,888). TCCCI was the former distributor of MG Cars until just recently when SAIC Philippines was established and took control of MG. More recently, TCCCI acquired the distributor rights for KG Mobility (formerly Ssangyong).
Berjaya Group
The Berjaya Group is quite an influential one in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian group is known for managing a chain of hotels. It also distributes brands like Mazda, Kia, and Peugeot in Malaysia and some other ASEAN countries.
Locally though, Berjaya simply offers the Mazda brand under Bermaz Auto. However, at one point, it did offer the Kaicene (Changan trucks) and Ssangyong brands as well. It is also the local distributor of Papa John’s Pizza.
Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL)
Hailing from Singapore is Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange. The group distributes Subaru and Nissan in Singapore. Tan Chong operates in a number of countries that include Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam to name a few, many of which are to distribute Subaru. In the Philippines, this is handled by its subsidiary, Motor Image Pilipinas. Besides the automotive field, Tan Chong also has interests in communication technologies, vehicle rentals, property management, industrial equipment, and waste management in Singapore.
Subaru in Singapore has been an active partner of original regional programming, being a principal sponsor of shows like Asia's Next Top Model, Cesar's Recruit, and Bolt of Talent and even attracting international celebrities like Cesar Millan to serve as endorsers of their vehicles.
Transnational Diversified Group (TDG)
One company working behind the scenes until recently is the Transnational Diversified Group (TDG). TDG is a partner of NYK shipping in the country which handles the logistics of vehicle imports for a number of the brands mentioned here. Essentially, NYK is in charge of offloading the vehicles from boats, inspecting them, and preparing them to be sent to the distribution centers of their respective brands.
With expertise in such a vital link in the auto supply chain, it’s no surprise that the group has decided to venture into the auto industry themselves. TDG is now behind new brands like Weltmeister, Hongqi, and BAW, through its subsidiary EvoXTerra.
United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI)
The family behind this automotive company got its start auctioning off heavy construction equipment under the name United Auctioneers, Inc. at the former American bases. Its automotive arm, UAAGI, is known as the official distributor of Foton commercial vehicles, which now operates an assembly plant and logistics center in Clark, Pampanga. UAAGI has recently grown its automotive business with the addition of Chery Auto. UAAGI also has a Philippine Volleyball League team named after their car brand, the Chery Tiggo Crossovers.
Luxuriant Auto Group
Those into customizing and modifying should be familiar with the Luxuriant group. They offer aftermarket wheels as well as distribute Sailun and Zeneos tires. More recently, they’ve decided to offer new vehicles as well in the form of GWM cars. GWM cars come in a wide variety of propulsions from crossovers with internal combustion engines, hybrids, and soon, full electric models.
Aston Martin and McLaren
In any other country, there is no relation between the two high performance brands, Aston Martin and McLaren. However, here in the Philippines, they’re distributed by the companies of Marc Tagle. He hails from the same family behind Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation (PAEC) which distributes Bridgestone tires and operates Bridgestone Tire Centers. The family might be known to the older generations as the distributor of La Germania cooking ranges as well.
Astara
Spanish distributor, Astara, has only recently entered the Philippines but is already making waves with triple digit growth for GAC Motor since it took control. Astara used to be known as Bergé Auto, which was first established in 1979. It now has business in Europe and Latin America, serving as the distributor for car brands in multiple territories. The Philippines is its latest international market.
Besides GAC, Astara also distributes the Peugeot brand in the country and has recently acquired the distributorship for JMC commercial vehicles.
Diamond Auto Group
Fans of Mitsubishi cars might remember the Diamond Auto Group, being one of the more prominent dealers of Mitsubishi cars in the 80s and 90s. Not content with just one brand, Diamond had ventured into other brands too, joining a group of investors that brought in Tata Motors in the 2010s. Its most recent is Dongfeng electric trucks, in a bid to capitalize on the growing interest in sustainable vehicles.
Legado Motors
Before Astara, GAC cars were first brought in by Legado Motors. The company is run by former Ilocos Sur Governor, Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson. While Astara controls GAC distribution, Legado still operates GAC’s flagship dealership in Ortigas. The company is now keen on moving to electrified vehicles with its latest brand, Dongfeng passenger cars.
Sojitz Corporation
Japanese company, Sojitz, might not be a familiar name to many but it has been a silent partner of a number of brands in the past. Sojitz, through its subsidiary Sojitz Philippines, was a major investor of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines (MMPC). It’s still a major stakeholder of the distributor of Fuso trucks (the commercial vehicle division of Mitsubishi) in the country through Sojitz Fuso. Sojitz is also behind one of the more popular new brands, Geely, through its subsidiary, Sojitz G Auto.
If there's one thing to gleam from all of these large companies, it's that having affiliates in certain fields is beneficial to auto brands. Expertise in the financial industry and insurance is quite a handy thing to have, with Metrobank, YGC, Ayala, PGA Cars, and Tan Chong all with ties to finance companies. Operating hotels and properties is another one, with Metrobank, Ayala, Laus Group, UAAGI, Berjaya and Tan Chong having experience in the field. Of course, the most common of all is having another auto brand, as many of these companies show. Once you've mastered one brand, it's all too tempting to acquire another and slowly build an automotive empire.
That wraps up our round up of the large companies behind the distributorship of auto brands in the Philippines. There are many more companies that own auto and motorcycle brands out there, but those listed here share interesting relationships with other companies you may not have known about.