The country?s oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corp. said it has been selected as the preferred bidder for the distributorship of Korean car brand Kia in the Philippines.
?We confirm that our wholly-owned subsidiary, AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc., through one of its group companies, has received notice from Kia Motors Asia Regional headquarters that it has considered the Ayala group as ?the preferred bidder? to start negotiations for the Kia distributorship in the Philippines,? the listed holding firm said.
Ayala, however, stressed that no agreement has yet been reached.
The addition of Kia to its roster of automotive brands is in line with the Ayala Group?s goal to become abigger player in the sector, currently dominated by Japan?s Toyota Motors.
Through AC Industrials, the Ayala family holds car dealership businesses across the Volkswagen, Honda and Isuzu brands.
In 2016, it teamed up with Australian motorcycle manufacturer KTM AG for the production and distribution of motorcycles in the Philippines terms have yet been reached.
