It’s Sunday again, which means it’s time for the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup! You read this the day before Independence Day, which is the date when the Philippines was freed from the shackles of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule (that was then followed by decades of additional colonial rule under the Americans and the Japanese). It’s also the rainy season now – strong showers are now hitting various parts of the country as a counterbalance to the searing heat in the first ha

Local automakers got a big shot in the arm after the Philippine government extended the timeframe of its ₱27-billion program to boost domestic car manufacturing. The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) announced in a May 2023 press statement that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved a five-year extension to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program. PSAC is composed of business leaders and experts across six main sectoral groups: Agriculture, Digital Infrastructur

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is looking into putting up a new model assembly line in the Philippines, depending on government incentives. “They want to get into, probably, a new model assembly that they have not disclosed yet,” said Senior Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay in a February 17, 2023 report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “So, that’s really contingent on our CARS Program,” she added. Angara-Mathay was referring to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Progr

We've seen this before. A car brand showing photos of their soon-to-be-launched model either being off-loaded from a container ship or lined up neatly at the port area stockyard. Like other manufacturers, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. has employed the same marketing tactic over the years to drum-up excitement for its upcoming releases. What makes the 2023 Honda BR-V port-arrival photo interesting though is that it comes at a time when Honda Philippines, and indeed the whole automotive industry, i

Back in March 2018, Mitsubishi has launched a small multi-purpose vehicle – the Mitsubishi Xpander, replacing the Mitsubishi Adventure. Since its release, the Mitsubishi Xpander has gained massive popularity in the Philippines. This 7-seater MUV has the ideal size for family use and out-of-town travel. Variants The Xpander 2022 has four variants available in the Philippine automotive market. The entry-level 1.5L GLX M/T is priced at Php1,008,000, while the 1.5L Black Series A/T is at Php1,138,00

After dominating the segment for years, the Honda BR-V now has a worthy contender in the form of the all-new 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander. The new 7-seater B-segment SUV arrives in with its facelifted form with 1 variant to offer and is locally assembled (CKD) in Pekan. Sure enough, MMM announced recently that demand for the Xpander has far exceeded the Pekan plant’s production limit for the year 2020 and new bookings will be receiving the 2021-year model make instead. So, how does it compare against