Chevrolet All Set To Entice Philippines at MIAS

MANILA: It might be clear to most automobile manufacturers now that the B-Segment sedan is the most profitable vehicular class in the Philippines market. With the all-new Toyota Vios being the top selling automobile last year, it is quite certain that the competitors must have taken a lot of notes. Toyota Motor’s growing hold in the global automobile market has certainly risen concerns for the classic American carmaker Chevrolet who have decided to unleash their new compact sedan in at the upcoming 2016 Manila International Auto Show. Named aptly as the Chevrolet Sail, the entry level executive car is the manufacturer’s newest voyage to capitalize on the heavy demand for sedans in the Philippines.

Although it was Toyota who sold more than 30,000 units for the 2016 Vios, the competitors too realized the potential of this particular vehicular segment in the country. Despite their popularity, the General Motors-owned car brand still struggles hard to make a significant amount of sales in the Asia Pacific region where Japanese auto brands dominate the market. Their 3rd generation Sail was last glimpsed on the streets of China and appeared with a fresh new face. If we can remember correctly, the last rendition of the Sail Sedan although well received by fans was panned for its primitive design and features in various regions of the globe.

Now being given the green signal for its MIAS debut, the all-new Chevrolet Sail is expected to make it to the Philippine showrooms by the 3rd quarter. Despite Toyota’s ominescence in the Global automotive industry, Chevrolet Motor’s flagship b-segment sedan enjoys a high amount of sales in the Chinese markets and same is the case with the 3rd-gen model. Talking about the vehicle’s drivetrain, the new Sail will be supplied with 2 gasoline engines; reportedly a 1.5-litre mill and a 1.3-litre mill. This is pretty much the same strategy that Toyota has followed with their high selling Vios, with majority sales belonging to the 1.3-litre variant. This move by Chevrolet Philippines surely makes them look like desperate copycats, but it would certainly be an interesting showdown for the Filipino buyers as the Americans try to beat the Japs in their own game.

Photo Courtesy: Autocosmos.cl

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