The Toyota FJ Cruiser, which is no longer with us, was created as a spiritual successor of the legendary FJ Land Cruiser. The Japanese carmaker has once again paid tribute to the beloved FJ at the SEMA Show 2023. But this time, its new creation is more than just chunky looks and a V6 engine. Toyota unveiled the FJ Bruiser concept at the annual U.S. custom auto show, sporting a Toyota Motorsports Garage full tube frame and roll cage under the classic FJ45 pickup body. Perhaps the most dramatic ch

Chinese carmaker Jetour has finally arrived in the Visayas region! The company announced in an October 2023 press statement that Jetour Auto Bacolod is now open for business. It features a 284-square-meter showroom that can display six Jetour models and a shared service area that can accommodate up to five cars. “Now that Jetour Auto Bacolod is here, we can pursue our goal of providing quality value-laden vehicles to our kababayans [countrymen] in Negros Occidental and neighboring provinces in t

Resurgence is the word that perhaps best characterizes how GAC Motor Philippines is doing nowadays. Ever since multinational automotive distributor Astara took over local operations on December 2022, the Chinese car brand’s image and vehicle lineup have gotten a huge boost amid the surge of new cars from the People’s Republic. GAC Motor Philippines’ improved fortunes are also being helped by the recent appointment of highly respected industry veterans Franz Decloedt and Timmy De Leon, who serve

This year’s auto industry rigodon has new participants. Astara Philippines, the multinational mobility distributor that handles the local operations of Peugeot and GAC Motor, announced in an August 2023 press statement that it has appointed two well-renowned executives in key leadership positions. Timmy Naval-de Leon, who was formerly head of corporate communications of the Ayala Corporation’s automotive arm AC Motors for nine years, is now Astara Phiippines’ new marketing director. Naval-de Leo

Jetour Global reports it has already reached 720,000 units sold since it was established in 2018. And with production ramping up and more global markets being tapped, the Chinese SUV brand aims to get 500,000 cars sold this year alone. According to a statement released by Jetour Auto Philippines (JAPI), its parent company sold 200,000 vehicles from January to May 2023 and is well on track to achieve its target. Jetour also aims to sell 1,000,000 units by 2025 and 1,270,000 by 2027. JAPI is looki

Toyota is still a dominant force in the international market. According to a global sales research report by JATO Dynamics, five of the Japanese brand's vehicles were in the top 10 best-selling cars in 2022. The Toyota RAV4 scored the top spot with over a million sales recorded, with 43 percent coming from the United States and Canada. The RAV4 was followed closely behind by the Toyota Corolla sedan, the Toyota Camry, the Toyota Hilux, and the Toyota Corolla Cross, which were all in the Top 10.