SHINING MOMENT — Chery Auto’s new boss Froilan Dytianquin is built for tough times
‘I believe that you cannot really put a good product down.’
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF Chery Auto WITH over 30 years of experience, Froilan Dytianquin is expected to bring Chery Auto to a new era of change and transformation.
They say that it is during tough times when a good leader shines. And the darker the times, the brighter it shines.
That's what car executive Froilan Dytianquin went through late 2015. A spate of vehicle accidents happened due to alleged "sudden unintended acceleration" or SUA involving the Montero Sport, one of the best-selling SUV models of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.
Video clips of crashes and testimony of those driving the SUV were just too alarming to ignore that, eventually, the House and Senate were prompted to hold their respective televised "inquiry in aid of legislation."
The difficult task of explaining the side of MMPC on the issue fell on the lap of Dytianquin, then the first vice president for marketing of the Japanese subsidiary.
But he was a picture of composure and clarity during that difficult time, calmly explaining to the media and legislators that, from a technical viewpoint, it is not possible for the Montero Sport to be involved in accidents caused by SUA.
Perhaps due to Dytianquin's transparency and full cooperation with investigators throughout the controversy, MMPC (even at the height of negative criticisms against it) posted a 50-percent increase in vehicle sales in January 2016.
Montero Sport SUV remained popular among buyers in the succeeding months and years. "I believe that you cannot really put a good product down," says Dytianquin who is now the newly appointed managing director of Chery Auto Philippines.
The SUA issue was finally resolved in 2017, when the result of a third-party investigation, commissioned by Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan, showed that the alleged SUA incidents were likely due to "pedal misapplication."
Sometimes it's easy for people working in a company to lose morale when controversies happen especially involving the buying public.
"But it is always strong leadership that pulls businesses out of crisis situations. Like Sir Froi, he was visible and clear in communicating the side of the company," remembers Chery Auto Philippines marketing director Rosemary Cruz.