CATS Motors and MMPC asking P-Noy to curb the importation of grey market vehicles

**numbah5** · July 3rd, 2010 11:53 PM

Mods, please transfer to the right sub-forum if this is the wrong sub-forum.

I read in the website of Top Gear Philippines that CATS Motors' Greg Yu and MMPC Vice President for Marketing Taizo Furuhashi is asking President Aquino to curb the influx of Grey Market vehicles, especially used vehicles from Japan and America. One of their reasons is that, quoting Greg Yu, "Besides the questionable conversion from right-hand to left-hand drive, these gray-market importers have no facilities, they don't pay the correct taxes, they artificially inflate the figures of newly-registered cars in the Land Transportation Office. This has to stop as it's killing the local car industry." And I read an old issue of Top Gear while I was in Dub Unlimited this afternoon, an article about the grey market is there saying that buying from the grey market is actually safe if the port of entry is Manila, and they asked the what is the stand of CAMPI members. Lo and behold, CATS Motors will actually service and honor the warranties of grey market units.

I think they will have a hard time convincing President Aquino on this because he is a customer of the grey market. His personal Toyota Land Cruiser 200 is from the grey market as it has a sunroof and a spare tire cover at the rear

**Starex_Gold** · July 3rd, 2010 11:57 PM

Kung hindi sana mahal at stripped off yung Local LC200 eh bibilihin yan. Kaso hinde. Stripped off na nga, mas mahal pa sa Dubai Version

**vinj** · July 5th, 2010 12:49 PM

I think the concern of CATS Motors is more of the Port Irene importations as there are a lot of MBs from Japan being sent in through here. Katabi ko sa office parking today is a C42 with B plates. :D

**JackFlash** · July 5th, 2010 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by vinj

I think the concern of CATS Motors is more of the Port Irene importations as there are a lot of MBs from Japan being sent in through here. Katabi ko sa office parking today is a C42 with B plates. :D

This will be one big challenge for the new admin. As we all know, Port Irene is JPE territory, and as veteran senator, he wields a lot of influence. As one-time co-conspirator of Honasan in coups vs. Cory, he can be downright scary. I remember Chiz launched a senate investigation on Pt. Irene some time back, but it seemed like the whole thing just died down.

Buti pa ang *** video, may senate inquiry na, ilang araw pang nasa front page...

**uls** · July 5th, 2010 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by numbah5

Mods, please transfer to the right sub-forum if this is the wrong sub-forum.

I read in the website of Top Gear Philippines that CATS Motors' Greg Yu and MMPC Vice President for Marketing Taizo Furuhashi is asking President Aquino to curb the influx of Grey Market vehicles, especially used vehicles from Japan and America. One of their reasons is that, quoting Greg Yu, "Besides the questionable conversion from right-hand to left-hand drive, these gray-market importers have no facilities, they don't pay the correct taxes, they artificially inflate the figures of newly-registered cars in the Land Transportation Office. This has to stop as it's killing the local car industry." And I read an old issue of Top Gear while I was in Dub Unlimited this afternoon, an article about the grey market is there saying that buying from the grey market is actually safe if the port of entry is Manila, and they asked the what is the stand of CAMPI members. Lo and behold, CATS Motors will actually service and honor the warranties of grey market units.

I think they will have a hard time convincing President Aquino on this because he is a customer of the grey market. His personal Toyota Land Cruiser 200 is from the grey market as it has a sunroof and a spare tire cover at the rear

to make things clear lang:

there's a difference between "grey market" cars and Japan used cars (which are orig. RHD)

you can't use the term "grey market" to cover everything

the widely accepted meaning of "grey market" here is BRAND NEW cars NOT sold thru casas

the cars are usually imported from the US (which are orig LHD)

like US version SUVs

like Nissan GTRs, Corvettes, and other high performance cars

Japan used cars are an entirely different category

for this thread, i'll stick to those brand new grey market imports

many years ago, before the Hyundai casas sold Starex Vans, Starex vans are sold only by grey market importers

we were one of the importers of Starex vans

during that time, there were no exclusive dealers of Starex vans

remember those Ssanyong Vans with the Mercedes emblem?

grey market imports din yan. wala pa Ssangyong dealer dati

P-Noy's Land Crusier obviously didnt come from the local Toyota casa

the grey market exists coz there's a demand for choices and exclusivity

the grey market meets that demand

the reason why CATS is against grey market imports is coz the grey market imports are competing with their "formal" imports

there are Benzes brought in thru Port Irene (orig LHD from Japan. there are LHD cars in Japan... status symbol pa nga sa Japan ang LHD cars)

those "formal" car dealers or casas are all the same

they're all complaining about competition from the "informal" sector

what makes them so special?

coz they got those foreign car company logos displayed on their buildings?

making them "exclusive" distributors?

so everyone should buy cars only from them?

the local casas have very limited line-up

what if they don't have what customers are looking for?

like wala Nissan GTR sa local Nissan casa

buti meron grey market importers ng GTR

kung pinagbawal ang grey market imports, someone who wants a GTR can't buy 1

forget the GTR

buy what the casas have nalang

buy a sentra

yan ang gusto ng "formal" auto sector

**BLUR-RT** · July 5th, 2010 02:04 PM

maybe wag pagbawalan pero kunyari yung unit na grey market is may local release mas mataas ang price to protect yung local investors

**uls** · July 5th, 2010 02:19 PM

fight for your right to choose

don't let the casas limit your choices

**vinj** · July 5th, 2010 02:21 PM

My understanding on this:

Grey market importers sell select/premium brand new and slightly used cars which are normally not available in the market or have better specifications than what the local distributors offer (usual origin is Dubai and the US). Since these come in minimal volumes, it is not much of a concern to the manufacturers/authorized distributors.

The Port Irene/Subic/Cebu importers are known to bring in surplus/used cars in volume from Japan and Korea. These are usually more than five years old and are bidded out. These may compete more with the local auto industry as these are vehicles brought in in larger volumes and are priced at the range one could spend to buy a local, mass produced brand new sedan/SUV/van.

If i were to buy a new Pajero or LC200, i'd likely get a Dubai spec unit from a grey market dealer as it gives more options at a competitive price. But if it were a Benz/Porsche/Audi/BMW, i;d get it from the local dealer (this is just me... if i did have the means).

**niky** · July 5th, 2010 02:23 PM

And to think... I remember saying in the MVDP thread that it's the brand new grey market importers these guys should be asking about... now they're asking... am I psychic, or what?

Originally Posted by BLUR-RT

maybe wag pagbawalan pero kunyari yung unit na grey market is may local release mas mataas ang price to protect yung local investors

Why?

Some of the local distributors are not first party, and thus sell at a higher price than they would if they were run by the manufacturer (Note: Kia vs. Hyundai).

What these companies do is no different from what the grey market importers do. Some grey market importers even offer warranties and service on their vehicles... just like the casa. In the end, what's the difference between them and the small/medium sized players besides the amount of investment? There's no possibility of making any legal restriction against these people that will not hit at least a few of the acknowledged "official" distributors here.