It's an all-woman-driven Dakar 2024 Astara campaign as the Spanish mobility company is set to field two entries in the treacherous desert race this coming January 5 to 19, 2024. Set to drive the Astara 02 Concept, Laia Sanz and Patricia Pita will have co-drivers Maurizio Gerini and Paolo Boggioni, respectively, to guide them through the 12 stages crossing the Saudi Arabian desert. Astara, for those who do not know yet, is the distributor of Peugeot and GAC in the Philippines. It also operates in

GAC Motor Philippines is expanding its presence by opening a new dealership in Cainta Rizal. The opening of the new facility took the esteemed presence of top executives from the GAC Management Group (China), its local distributor Astara Philippines, and the Gateway Group. Astara Philippines Managing Director Raoul Picello, who was at the event, thanked the Gateway Group for their support, investment, and belief in the GAC brand. “It's through a partnership like ours that we can achieve great th

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

“In this business, you gotta have a tough skin.” This is what Visor.Ph Editor-in-Chief Vernon Sarne told me at last week's BMW M2 launch event. Chief, as I fondly call him to this day (he got me to join Top Gear Philippines magazine as a cover photographer and writer back in 2010), has seen it all and has been through wars ordinary people would have waived the white flag early on. The mental and physical stress this job entails can be too much for someone who cares about his craft. So when we he

GAC Philippines has reached another significant milestone in the Philippines, surpassing 1,000 units in total retail sales for 2023 - a record achievement for the automaker since being under the global mobility company Astara. GAC Motor achieved year-to-date retail sales of 1,017 units as of August. The figures are likewise reflected on the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) database. The 1000+ sales is evidence of the brand’s growing popularity in the country. T

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