As a newcomer in the local commercial vehicle industry in 2018, Mpire Group is not only creative, but also very aggressive.
Dato Billy Goh Shares Innovative Strategies
Groundbreaking offers from Mpire Group through its three subsidiaries – Mpire Commercial Sdn Bhd, Mpire Asia Sdn Bhd and Mpire JAC Sdn Bhd have been successfully drawing the attention of potential buyers. They do not stop there, but have triggered a heated discussion amongst the local commercial vehicle players with some companies following Mpire Group’s footsteps.
A little background information on these great deals. With Mpire Commercial’s resale value guarantee programme for Foton Daimler EST & EST-A models, the company has offered a 5-year buy back value at maximum 30 per cent based on the initial prime mover (body excluded) invoice price from the company. This was followed by the Trade-in Programme of Mpire Asia with a RM8,000 subsidy for any vehicles traded in with the condition of buying a brand new Foton View CS2. Then, when they relaunched the JAC brand in Malaysia, RM 3,000 was offered as a trade-in support for customers by Mpire JAC.
As a newcomer in the local commercial vehicle industry in 2018, Mpire Group is not only creative, but also very aggressive. Group Managing Director Dato’ Billy Goh is the mastermind behind the Group’s innovative marketing approach.
“My dad is in the used car business. His used car showroom in Batu Pahat was where I spend most of my time after school when I was young. I grew up around motor vehicles, so it is not by chance that the automobile industry is in my blood,” said Goh.
Goh then went to Monash University in Australia to study banking and finance in 2002. His father shifted his imported and re-conditioned vehicle business to Kuala Lumpur after his graduation. “I see a better future in the new car dealership as it comes with the manufacturer’s warranty. I was 22 when I secured a Hyundai dealership.”
From Car Dealership to Commercial Vehicle Distributor
From a small Hyundai sales dealer in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur to today’s position as the largest Hyundai dealership group in Malaysia, Goh described his leadership style as hands on. “I learned along the way from others, as well as paying particular attention to the trends and developments of the global automotive industry. We managed to grow the brand in Malaysia, and we were among the top dealers in the country by 2015. In 2017, we expanded from one outlet to 17 outlets and clinched 34 per cent of Hyundai’s market share in Malaysia.”
Looking back, he said, it has not been entirely smooth sailing. Perseverance and determination were the two factors that contributed most to his Hyundai’s dealership success.
Goh then set his eyes on Chery, a Chinese vehicle brand that focuses on MPVs. Opportunities came when he learned that they were looking to withdraw from the Malaysian market. He negotiated with them and bought over their stock of 470 vehicles. Besides MPVs, he said which accounted about half of the amount, there were also 4 vans and 18 half-ton trucks.
“We managed to sell all of them in less than 5 months. This proved a point. It was a matter of market positioning and the right strategy and was not so much product quality or the perception of Chinese brands of vehicle that was affecting its performance in Malaysia.”
Goh points out that the Malaysian automotive market was dominated by the Japanese brands in the 80s and 90s, with the Korean brands followed behind. With economies of scale, research and development, as well as the fact that China is moving from high-quantity to high-quality manufacturing, China is obviously catching up in the automobile industry. He believes that Chinese car brands will become an important player in the market.
“If Chery could do so well in China, which is highly competitive, I see no reason why they can’t do well in the international market,” he added.
The auto industry, he said, is facing three key trends– car sharing, electric vehicles and autonomous driving. Ride-hailing services have become very popular now in Malaysia, and a quick check on the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) website, shows that there are 41 other e-hailing firms for riders to choose from, besides Grab and Mycar that might be the first two names to come on mind.
“Maintaining a private car can be tough and costly. Ride-hailing, short term car rental services, as well as mass transit are the alternatives with increasing traffic congestion and limited parking facilities, helping people moving around without owning a car. Selling cars to these companies is different from selling directly to consumers, whereas, the booming of e-commerce has led to the increasing demand for commercial vehicles in the country.”
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Mpire集团重新定义中国商用车品牌定位
Mpire集团透过它旗下的3家子公司—Mpire Commercial私人有限公司、Mpire亚洲私人有限公司及Mpire JAC私人有限公司成功引起潜在客户的注意力。 他们推出的一系列优惠在本地商用车业界不仅掀起热烈讨论，跟风者更是不少。
让我们看看该公司推出的优惠有多吸引人。在Mpire Commercial为福田戴姆勒EST和EST-A超级卡车 转售价保证计划下，该公司按最初牵引机（不包括车身）最高可达30%的发票价格作为5年回购价。接着是Mpire Asia的旧车换新车计划，举凡以旧车折价换新福田View CS2的客户都可获得8千令吉的补贴。然后当MpireAsia在马来西亚重新推介JAC品牌时，该公司又为以旧车更换JAC产品的客户，提供了3，000令吉的补贴。
2018年，作为本地商用车行业的新来者–Mpire集团不仅充满创意，更是来势汹汹。这些创意行销背后的策划者当然不是等闲之辈，他是Mpire集团的灵魂人物， 集团董事经理吴世伟。
“我的父亲从事二手车买卖。年少时的我，放学后就常在他位于峇株峇辖（Batu Pahat）的二手车陈列室里消磨时光。在这样的环境里长大，耳濡目染下，汽车行业自然与我密不可分，我为它深深着迷 。”他说。
2002年，他赴澳留学，在蒙纳士大学修读银行与金融学。 他毕业后，父亲就将进口及翻新车业务迁徙到吉隆坡 来。“我在新车代理行业看到更好的未来，因为新车享有制造商保修覆盖。我在22岁那年，成功取得现代（Hyundai）汽车代理权。”
从汽车代理到商用车经销商
从吉隆坡新村（Kampung Baru）的一个小小现代汽车代理商，发展成为马来西亚最大的现代汽车代理商集团，吴世伟说亲身实践是他的领导模式。“我一路向他人学习，并且特别注意全球汽车行业的发展和趋势。我们成功在马来西亚增长现代品牌， 2015年，我们成为国内顶尖的现代代理之一。2017 年，我们从一间门店扩展至17间门店，并在马来西亚的现代汽车市占率中占了34%。”
如今回头看， 他说该集团的发展并非一帆风顺。他认为，坚持与毅力是现代代理业务发展成功的两大关键。
吴世伟后来注意到奇瑞（Chery） ，一个聚焦于多用途（MPV）汽车的中国品牌。当奇瑞要从大马市场撤退时，他知道商机来了。与他们商讨后，便毅然买下他们所有的存货。在这470辆的汽车中，有大约一半是多用途车，还有4辆货车和18辆半吨卡车。
“我们在不到5个月里就将它们全部售罄。这证明了一点，影响他们业绩的不是中国产品品质和大马市场对中国品牌车辆先入为主的看法，而是市场的定位和策略。”
他指出，日本品牌在80和90年代主导马来西亚市场，接下来是韩国品牌。中国的规模经济、研究与开发，以及正从高产量转向高质量生产已经是不争的事实，中国的汽车行业已明显地赶了上来。他相信，中国汽车品牌将成为市场上重要的参与者。
“如果奇瑞能在中国这么一个高度竞争的国家表现卓越，我看不出为什么他们不能在国际市场里占有一席之地。”他补充。
他说，汽车分享、电动车辆及自动驾驶是当前汽车行业的三大主要趋势。打车服务在马来西亚非常普遍，根据陆路公共交通局（APAD）的数据显示，除了最为人熟知的Grab和Mycar外，还有其他41家打车服务公司。
“维持一辆私人轿车，费用高 且辛苦。在交通愈发拥挤和泊车位有限的情况下，打车和短期租车服务，以及公共交通工具成了另一个选择。将汽车销售给这些公司和直接卖给消费者不一样。电子商务的蓬勃发展也提高了国内对商用车的需求。”
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