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

Recent rumblings in the automotive industry talk about Chinese brands changing management hands. And from what we've heard, there will be a few. But why do the principals feel the sudden need to come in lock, stock, and barrel to take over the Filipino-run local distributorships? Haven't they done enough to promote the brand? Did the distributors fall short of sales targets? Or have the distributors failed in the perception game despite the uptick in Chinese-made cars' build, tech and quality in

Disclosure: Chery Auto Philippines lent us a Chery Tiggo 8 PRO 1.6T for eight days with a full tank of gas. Additional fuel and toll fees were paid by the writer using his personal money. Jetour Auto Philippines likewise invited the writer to an all-expense paid trip to China which included a visit of the Chery Auto manufacturing facilities. Something about the tag “Made in China” turns many car buyers off. Geopolitics aside, Chinese-built cars have long suffered from the negative impressions th

If you’re eyeing the all-new Honda BR-V, which was officially launched on Nov. 21, 2022, you should have no troubles getting one. Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) said in a press conference that there are complete stocks of the BR-V, which is manufactured in Indonesia. This came after the carmaker showed off on November 2022 a photo of hundreds of BR-Vs waiting for new owners. However, the carmaker noted that delivery issues with the HR-V crossover have not yet been fully addressed. “We cannot

If you think Lexus is a brand that caters only to middle-aged men, loaded car enthusiasts, and company CEOs, then you must not have heard of the UX yet. Lexus considers the UX subcompact crossover as its gateway model, meaning it is the most affordable crossover in the lot. It still showcases the brand’s design and technologies despite being in the lower tier of the lineup. But there’s nothing much lower-tier about the Lexus UX as it now sports a Hybrid Electric powertrain under the hood for 202

Mazda will be propelling a few unused SUVs starting 2022, and fair final week the Mazda CX-50 begun generation in North America. Presently, Japanese media have taken a shot and rendered the Mazda CX-80, an up and coming show that’s a small bit more important to us. One of the five new SUVs announced – alongside the CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, and CX-90 – the CX-80 will be sold in Japan and Europe, which gives it a good chance of appearing here, considering some of our Mazda models are imported from Jap