Setting up a car brand from scratch can be a daunting task. Aside from satisfying government and regulatory requirements, anyone planning to bring in a foreign brand will be faced with a number of difficult challenges along the way. That is why most automotive brands prefer to partner with a local distributor. Filipinos who run the distributorship are presumed to know the ins and outs of setting up the company, dealing with government agencies, hiring the right people, establishing systems and p

The Mazda CX-60 won’t be the only luxury crossover to take on European brands in the Philippines. Mazda Philippines president and CEO Steven Tan announced at the CX-60 launch on June 9, 2023 that the larger CX-90 will be in the country within the year. “The reason why we pre-launched it in the market today, number one, because the development team is here,” he said at a press conference. “Number two, the answer is very soon,” Tan replied, when asked about an exact timeframe for the launch. RWD c

Although most of us won’t take our SUVs and pickups through waist-high floods, it’s always reassuring to know that they can. Ford Philippines is keen to prove this to potential buyers as it heads to SM City Pampanga on Sept. 23-25, 2022, for its third Ford Island Conquest, where it will showcase the 2023 Ford Ranger pick-up and its SUV cousin, the 2023 Ford Everest. The company said the event will feature a dynamic display, an on-road test drive (where most pick-ups and SUVs spend their lives),

The first time the Nissan Grand Livina entered the Philippine market in 2008, it was a three-row hatchback based on the Nissan Tiida platform. It was ahead of its time in many ways, as it offered car-like handling and seating for seven. Typical of what crossovers provide today. As head of the marketing team of Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc (NMPI) at that time, I was tasked to find ways to slot such a strange vehicle concept into the MPV-crazy consciousness of Filipino car buyers. The 2008 Nissan

Looking for a family ride which offers both power and versatility? Why not try the best-selling PPV in the Philippine market – the Toyota Fortuner! The Toyota Fortuner has been around the market for a while now, and it has been a top choice for PPV users. PPV stands for Pickup Platform Vehicle. Usually, these are also classified as midsize SUVs (yes they’re midsize even if they’re huge) or Sports Utility Vehicles. PPVs mainly come from pickup trucks that had an outer shell. Later on, the shell w

For those who don’t know, Toyota Rush uses the same engine as the Toyota Avanza. It’s a 1.5L 4-Cylinder Dual VVT-i Gasoline-Powered Engine mated to either a 4-speed automatic transmission or a 5-speed manual transmission depending on which variant you’ll be buying. In this article, we’ll be going through the strengths and weaknesses of each configuration and hopefully, help you pick out which one works best for you. The Toyota Rush is an RWD or Rear-Wheel Drive. That means the Rush gets its powe