Perfect market matching
There’s nothing that screams “Suzuki!” in the Suzuki badge. There are just three parallel, compressed strokes that make up an “S,” and then that’s it. But somehow, the public knows immediately what it means, and the car-buying public knows exactly what they’ll get.
Automotive industry pundits see Suzuki as the “quietest” or most prudent of the Japanese marques, yet also one of the most consistently successful car brands. Its secret lies mostly in sticking to what it does best—making big business out of small cars, compact SUVs, small to medium 4x4s and also practical multipurpose and all-purpose vehicles.
It made small, but it also gave big. Suzuki has historically been an unselfish corporate citizen. Automotive journalist Tony Lewin of the book “AZ of 21st Century Cars,” wrote that Suzuki provided other automakers with a handy supply of off-the-shelf models to fill the gaps in their lineups. Auto expert Giles Chapman (author of “Car Badges”) wrote that even a public relations executive who’s been promoting Suzuki cars for two decades “could not come up with one scrap of romance or notoriety.”
In other words, Suzuki has been all work, no drama.
And that’s been good for the Suzuki business for all these years. Buyers want calm consistency threading the reliability of a car brand they’re buying.
It’s no different for the Pinoy car market, as well. That’s why, despite the strong sales of non-Japanese new entries in international markets, Japanese-branded vehicles still dominate all brands here in the Philippines.
The newest Suzuki dealership in Silang, Cavite province, bears the same level of consistency and reliability. Caviteños, like many sensible buyers, know what they want in their cars: Simple, no frills, fuel-efficient, and value for their money. Alphamile Auto Group president Paul Tionson will tell you as much.
“From our experience in Cavite, the market here—which has a strong working class—prioritizes value for their hard-earned money. It’s really all about value, and I think that’s why Suzuki is a really good fit because for what they’re offering, you get a lot of value. Suzuki products are always competitively priced. And at the same time, the highlight is always fuel efficiency,” Tionson quipped.
NXT Mile Motors Inc. owns and operates three Suzuki dealerships: Suzuki Auto Silang, Suzuki Auto Otis (currently in soft-opening phase) and Suzuki Auto Kawit in Cavite (its first Suzuki dealership established in 2022). NXT Mile Motors is part of the umbrella company Alphamile Auto Group that also operates dealerships of other car brands. Paul’s brother Mark is the president of NXT Mile Motors Inc. while their father Juanito Tionson is the chair of Alphamile Auto Group.
Along Aguinaldo Highway
Suzuki Auto Silang is located at the Dragon Textile Compound along Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo Highway, in Barangay Lalaan 1 in Silang. The dealership occupies 2,000 sqm, spacious enough to offer 8 service bays and a showroom that can display up to 6 vehicles. Operations for sales and after-sales services are now in full swing.
Suzuki Auto Silang general manager Robert Salomon said: “Suzuki Auto Silang’s strategic location in Cavite positions us well to serve nearby residential areas, including Silang, Dasmariñas, Amadeo, Alfonso, Indang, Mendez, part of Santa Rosa, and other surrounding towns and cities in the growing automotive market in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) region. This location also makes it a convenient stopover or gateway to popular tourist destination Tagaytay City, so we have high hopes that the dealership will attract customers going to or coming from Tagaytay.”
Silang is among the largest municipalities in Cavite, with 64 barangays and a population of nearly 300,000.
Calax is key
Tionson revealed the strategy behind the two Suzuki dealerships in Cavite. “If you look at the map, Kawit allows us to access the northern part of Cavite—Kawit, Noveleta, General Trias, even parts of Bacoor and Imus—but towards the southern part of Cavite, we saw that there was an opening, and an opportunity both for our group and for Suzuki to expand our coverage of Cavite. We also saw a lot of developments in Silang, such as the Calax (Cavite-Laguna Expressway). Once it’s completed, Calax will connect a big portion of Laguna to Cavite, from SLEX, all the way through Cavite to the Cavitex (Cavite Expressway) side. This will make our locations all the more strategic. We will be able to serve bigger, and different markets.”
Growing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles
In light of the current increases in fuel prices, market demand would most likely lean towards more fuel-efficient vehicles. This would work towards Suzuki Silang’s advantage.
“Our target markets include young professionals, families, and businesses in the area,” said Salomon. “We observe a growing demand for reliable and fuel-efficient vehicles in Cavite and thus, Suzuki Silang aims to cater to this demand, offering a wide range of Suzuki models from small, compact, to 7-seater AUV models. We hope to increase Suzuki’s market share in the province and provide excellent customer service,” Salomon added.
Tionson said, “I think the lineup of Suzuki is a better fit with Cavite car buyers. One of the reasons why electrification and hybrids are all the rage right now is, number one because of social responsibility and second is for practical reasons, to save on fuel and operating costs. For Suzuki, there’s a range of drivetrains to achieve that. The brand has internal combustion engine cars and also hybrid technology. Mild hybrid versions of several popular models include Dzire, Ertiga Hybrid GLX and XL7. So, there are a lot of options, but underpinning all those is the DNA of Suzuki for fuel economy.”
Strong working class
Tionson continues: “Especially if you’re from Cavite, the driving destinations here are farther apart compared to destinations in Metro Manila, and a lot of Caviteños also work in Manila.
Another factor that we’ve observed here is that, generally, the money is hard earned and there’s a strong working class, we can actually observe that because a lot of sales in Cavite is driven by bank financing, and we’ve observed that the approval rate of our bank partners are even better in Cavite than it is in Manila.”
Tionson pointed out that Cavite has a strong middle class with purchasing power and enough earning potential for banks to approve their auto financing applications. He added that car buyers in Cavite “have strong personal and household finances. Very ripe for car ownership.”
Bacoor hub
The Tionson family, which has been involved in various businesses, including plastics manufacturing, only started in the automotive industry in 2019, first establishing a foothold in Bacoor, Cavite with another brand. It’s also in Bacoor where the family’s plastics factory is located.
Tionson shared: “There was a plot of land that my dad wanted to have leased out to an auto dealer. At the time, Bacoor Boulevard was emerging as an auto row.”
Through common acquaintances, the Tionsons were referred to a dealer network head of another brand. It was then that the family decided to diversify into the auto business. The Tionsons now manage multiple brands.
Paul, 32, is a BS Management Engineering graduate of Ateneo de Manila, while Mark, 30, is a BS Chemical Engineering graduate of the De La Salle University Manila.
