EXCLUSIVE: Petromax going after BMW M, Mercedes-AMG with Italian style, engineering prowess

Italian car brands have been well-known in the Philippines for long occupying the zenith of automotive aspiration.

Even the biggest ignoramus will perk up when he or she hears words like Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini.

These brands not only produce some of the fastest supercars and hypercars on Earth, but also represent a lifestyle brimming with the trappings of immense wealth and cosmopolitan sophistication.

But when supercar owners need a more practical car that remains eye-wateringly brisk, they run to Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. That’s because, in the European high-performance sedan and crossover segments, it’s the Germans that rule the roost. 

But Petromax Enterprise, the current importer of Alfa Romeo and Abarth in the Philippines, is out to prove that Italy also has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with Deutschland.

Dream come true

Petromax president Allen Ong said he decided to bring Alfa Romeo to the Philippines because of lingering frustration.

“It's a passion of mine to have an Alfa Romeo back then na hindi ko nagawa [that I was not able to do],” he told AutoFun Philippines in an exclusive interview.

“I just grabbed an opportunity kasi gusto ko talaga ‘yung cars ng Alfa [because I really like Alfa’s cars],” Ong added.

Petromax started operations in 2017, opening its first showroom in San Juan. But just a year later, the company faced trouble with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the then-principal of Alfa Romeo and Abarth.

Media outlets reported that FCA branded Petromax as a “gray importer” with no permission to use the Alfa Romeo and Abarth logos hung proudly outside the showroom. At the time, Ong claimed to have gotten permission from FCA.

But all these seem to be behind Petromax now, having recently opened its newest dealership on C-5 in Libis, Quezon City. This time, the logos are kept well inside the showroom.

Petromax is also expecting Stellantis, which emerged from the merger of FCA and the French PSA Group, to officially introduce Alfa Romeo and Abarth in the Philippines soon following the appointment of official distributors in Hong Kong and Singapore.

BMW M, Mercedes-AMG in its sights

Ong said Petromax primarily offers top-end models as this is where it has the most demand.

“What we're targeting is ‘yung mga 500-horsepower Alfa Romeo sedans at saka SUV,” he said. “'Yun ‘yung gusto namin talagang i-focus kasi if you're going to buy an Alfa Romeo, lalo sa mga Class A, gusto nila ‘yung highest-end Alfa Romeo.”

[Translation: What we’re targeting are the 500-horsepower Alfa Romeo sedans and SUVs. This is where we really want to focus our efforts because if you’re going to buy an Alfa Romeo, especially for Class A, they want the highest-end Alfa Romeo.]

Petromax’s current lineup includes the Alfa Romeo Giulia, which directly competes with the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. There’s also the Stelvio crossover, which locks horns with the likes of the Porsche Macan.

The company also offers the Abarth 595, which is a high-performance version of the Fiat 500 and serves as a direct rival to the MINI Cooper S.

Ong said that Petromax currently sees no business case in importing more mainstream models, such as the Fiat Panda, Fiat Tipo and Fiat Ulysee.

“Kasi here in the Philippines, ‘pag manufactured in Italy or Europe, ‘pag dinala mo rito, taxes-wise and everything, nagmamahal din [Because here in the Philippines, if it’s manufactured in Italy or Europe, if you bring it here, taxes-wise and everything, it gets more expensive],” he said.

“Mas practical to get the higher end compared to the lower end for the consumer,” Ong added. “Kasi ‘pag dadalhin mo ‘yung mga maliliit na cars na ang mamahal, they would rather go for mga Japanese SUVs.”

[Translation: It’s more practical to get the higher end compared to the lower end for the consumer. Because if you bring in those small cars that will become so expensive, they would rather go for Japanese SUVs.]

Distinctly Italian flavor

Ong, who also competed in Philippine motorsports for a time, said the driving dynamics of cars like the Giulia Quadrifoglio and Stelvio Quadrifoglio beat their German rivals in one critical area.

“Usually, ang [a] car, if it's good in the corners, it's very stiff,” he said. “That's what the Germans do. Here, the suspension is very comfortable, pero [but] when it corners, it's very flat.”

Ong said this is down to Alfa Romeo’s patented suspension system, which includes a front double-wishbone setup with a semi-virtual steering axis. At the back, the Giulia and the Stelvio have an aluminum multilink setup called "Alfa link."

“Some German-car owners, ‘pag na-test drive nila ‘yung car, nagugulat sila,” he said. “Parang nawawala lahat ‘yung mga bumps, compared to their German cars."

[Translation: Some German-car owners, when they test drive the car, they are shocked. It’s like all the bumps have disappeared, compared to their German cars.]

“And if you lift the car, it doesn't look like a normal car suspension,” Ong added. “It looks like a supercar suspension.”

A mix of pure petrol and EV

Despite all this talk about gasoline-powered performance cars, Ong admits that electrified vehicles will take a bigger share of the Philippine car market in the next decade.

“Ang feeling ko [I feel that] it will coincide,” he said. “You have option to get petrol engine or you have option to get hybrid, so consumers have more option to choose.”

Alfa Romeo launched its first hybrid-electric vehicle, the Tonale compact crossover, on February 2022. Its variants include a turbocharged mild-hybrid and a plug-in-hybrid model.

Meanwhile, Fiat has the 500E battery-electric car, which is listed on the Petromax website. Introduced on February 2020, it is available with either a 24-kWh or 42-kWh lithium-ion battery pack with claimed maximum WLTP range of 185 km for the former and 320 km for the latter.

Do you think Alfa Romeo and Abarth can corner an Italian slice of a typically German pie?

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