Norkis shifts to marketing brand-new 4-wheel cabs

AFTER the government’s strict regulation of importing surplus units, the Norkis Group of Companies decided to shift from marketing surplus vehicles to brand new four-wheel vehicles.

Florante A. Casas, Norkis Group of Companies manager  for Visayas and Mindanao, said the company decided to focus on  brand new vehicles  because it couldn’t compete with lower-priced surplus units in the market.

Lucky Cab was introduced as Norkis’ new four-wheel cabs with a target of selling 300 units by year’s end.

Norkis  recently phased out its surplus line of Legacy  cabs. but Casas  assured that the firm would continue to give service support for those who bought the vehicles.

“For our Multicabs, we still continue to produce and market them but it is not that competitive because, despite the regulation, we still see numerous sellers of  multicabs at really cheaper prices,” he said.

Norkis reduced  production of Multicabs  from 100 units per month to  60 units.

“Now we only assemble the multicabs and our motorcycles in our plant in Compostela,” he said.

Casas said he was confident of marketing Norkis new line of vehicles because they are  the first  four-wheel drive cabs in the country today with a 1.8 engine that runs on diesel.

“With the rising cost for the gasoline, we see a huge demand for diesel-powered vehicles like our Lucky Cab,” he said.

The Lucky Cab comes in three models, the regular pickup truck, the FB Supreme with a a full  body van, and the Commuter Deluxe  for those who wants to use them as  jeepney units.

The prices are also 30 percent to 40 percent lower than other major brands.

“Because these are brand new units, they arrive here as CBUs or Complete Built-in Units and we provide full service and parts support,” Casas said.

The units were tested for ayear  before they were introduced in the  market.

“We started introducing the brand in July 10. So far we have already sold at least 20 percent of our target 300 units,” he said.

Meanwhile, motorcycle brands Haojue and Sunriser  continued to show increasing sales since it was introduced last year.

“The whole motorcycle industry has grown on an average of at least 10 per cent yearly because of  increased demand brought about by higher  fuel prices. We expect to perform well in this segment,” Casas said.

He said people were now looking at fuel-efficiency when they buy motor vehicles.