REV UP, 14th Diliman Motorshow on February 21, 2009

The University of the Philippines Gears and Pinions (UPGPs) will be holding REV UP, The 14th Diliman Motorshowon February 21, 2009, Saturday, at the College of Engineering, University of the Philippines.  The motorshow highlights the grand week-long celebrations entitled “The M.E. Days 2009” on February 16-21, 2009, at UP Diliman.

The premier event of the…

PTT Philippines Launches Ethanol-Blended Gasoline

PTT Philippines Corp. (PTTPC), the local arm of PTT Public Ltd. Co. of Thailand, launched last January 28, 2009 its new ethanol-blended gasoline, Performa 95+.

PTTPC president Siripong Phoungpaka, said they have invested about P6 million to be able to comply with the ethanol blend requirement under the biofuels law.

Under Republic Act 9367 or the Biofuels…

Mitsubishi Unveils First Mass-Market Electric Car From a Major Auto Maker

Mitsubishi has unveiled the first mass-market electric car from a mainstream car maker. Slightly bigger than the Smart ForTwo but with a similar design, the i-MiEV – which goes on sale in the UK later this year – is based on the i, Mitsubishi’s existing city car. With room for four adults, it has a…

Chevron Allots $20 Million for 5% Bioethanol Blend Compliance

Chevron Philippines Inc. has committed to invest some $20 million to comply with the five-percent bioethanol blend mandated by the Biofuels Law.

Mark Quebral, Chevron manager for policy government and public affairs, told a press conference yesterday that they have started importing their ethanol requirement from Brazil to meet the Biofuels Law mandate which will be effective next…

Asian Car Makers Eye Growth in Emerging Markets

Asian car makers will likely shift production and sales efforts to Southeast Asia and other emerging markets as demand from developed countries continues to fall in the next two to three years, global debt watcher Fitch Ratings yesterday said.

“We expect growth…

Toyota Philippines Posts Record Sales of 45,915 Units in 2008

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), the country’s largest car manufacturer, announced yesterday that it recorded an all-time high sales of 45,915 units in 2008 despite the general slowdown in global consumer demand.

“Aside from recording an all-time high sales of 45,915 units since the start of our operations, we have also captured our 7th consecutive triple…

Toyota Upbeat on Lexus Sales Despite Crunch

Targeting just 1 percent of the population, Toyota Motor Corp. recently brought in to the Philippines five models of its luxury brand Lexus with a price range of P2.9 million to P8.2 million.

Even with the difficult economic situation, Daniel Isla, president of the newly created Toyota subsidiary Lexus Manila Inc., said the company is confident…

Lifan Enters RP Car Market with Confidence

An automotive manufacturing company with heavy presence in Latin America and Europe is ready to take the Philippine market by storm with the introduction of new passenger car models that are sure to capture the interest of the picky Filipino car buyers.

For 2009, Lifan Cars will introduce to the Filipino car enthusiasts its LF520 mid-sized…

Lifan Cars to Sell Low-Cost Autos in RP

Chinese carmaker Lifan Cars announced it will start soon selling low cost vehicles to the country.

“We are confident that the entry of Lifan Cars will help revitalize the local domestic industry as it gives car buyers more choices. Car buyers will also enjoy considerable savings without compromising the quality, safety and…

Lexus Manila Inaugurates Showroom Amid Economic Uncertainties

The Philippine economy’s much-touted resilience in the face of the global financial crisis was much in evidence last week when Lexus Manila inaugurated its new showroom at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The three-evening event drew a large crowd of the country’s economic A-list and social gliteratti to the futuristic three-level Yuji Hirata-designed structure that…