On a cool early Saturday evening last March 2, the parking area between the Volkswagen and Honda dealerships in the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig became the venue for a street party-like event celebrating five years of growth for Volkswagen Philippines. The showroom of the VW BGC dealership became a virtual picnic area where registered guests were treated to a food galore from the partner-vendors like Purefood Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Magnolia Ice Cream. There were discounts from Thule and Graco while a BPI booth offered car loan application forms.
In the showroom, highly visible executives included Manny Aligada, the president of Kia Philippines, and Carl Decloedt, the head honcho of KTM Philippines. VW, Kia and KTM are part of the Ayala Corporation automotive brands. Joining the celebration were John Sullings, the distributor of KYT and Suomy motorcycle helmets in Australia, who visited the country for a couple of days in Boracay before going on to business in Malaysia.
Around nightfall, the party, dubbed as Kalye V, moved outside. Party hostess and emcee extraordinaire Issa Litton revved up the crowd which is composed of VW enthusiast and members of various VW car clubs while VW Philippines Chief Operating Adviser Klaus Schadewald, President Felipe Estrella III, and ACP President and COO Dino Santos, opened the event with impassioned speeches. Guests also had fun test driving the latest VW models—Lamando, Santana, and Tiguan.