MANILA - Filipino kids dragged their parents to Chevrolet showrooms to see the Camaro sports car similar to the one that transformed into Bumblebee in the hit Hollywood franchise, as the US auto-maker re-established itself in the Philippines nearly a decade ago.

It was the perfect way to reintroduce the General Motors brand to the Philippines, as the well-loved Autobot bridged generations and paved the way for other models.

"We would see children, really small kids pulling their dads, pulling their mothers," said Chevrolet Philippines president and managing director Alberto Arcilla.

"It made the brand have a younger feel, something you fall in love with because there's a very strong connection," Arcilla said in an interview with ANC's The Boss.

Arcilla said Chevrolet took advantage of the movie tie-up.

"We were just very fresh... What was nice is it connected many generations -- our generation, our father's generation and the millennials. Even the kids were all connected," he said.

For fast car enthusiasts, Chevrolet is bringing in the Corvette ZR1 to the Philippines by the third quarter of the year, with sales expected to grow 20 percent for the full year, Arcilla said.

Arcilla said sales would grow this year, driven mainly by demand for pick-up trucks from the countryside. Pickups were also exempted from taxes under a new regime that took effect last Jan. 1.