Honda Partners with UnionBank for OFW Car Remittance Program

In providing added convenience for Filipinos overseas, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) partners with UnionBank of the Philippines (UBP) for its car remittance program. Honda and UnionBank recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement in bolstering the Honda CAREmittance program that provides Filipinos abroad online access when buying a brand new Honda vehicle for their dear families here in the Philippines.

“Ever committed in providing sheer customer satisfaction, the addition of UnionBank of the Philippines to the program’s existing partners, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and Banco de Oro, offers added option and convenient access to more remittance centers.” said Mr. Hiroshi Shimizu, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.’s President and General Manager.

“UnionBank is honored to be Honda’s key partner in its CAREmittance program which is designed to help OFW’s enjoy the fruits of their labor. Being the first of its kind in the automotive industry, Honda CAREmittance complements UnionBank’s established credentials as a leading technology-driven bank.” said Mr. Genaro Lapez, UnionBank’s Executive Vice President for Consumer Finance. Read more

Honda City Wins Awards in Subcompact Category

The Honda City is the country’s subcompact sedan of choice not only for the motoring critics but the general public as well. Winning back-to-back recognition from two premier award giving bodies in the motoring realm, the introduction of the 3rd generation City early this year is a ground-breaking treat for the industry.

The Honda City is named the subcompact sedan of the year during the 5th Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards (AFPC) and the Car of the Year Awards (COTY). These awards groups aim to assist consumers in making a sound choice when purchasing a vehicle.

From July to September of this year, AFPC empowered the general public to vote for their favorite automobiles. AFPC winners were determined by tallying all votes generated from online, newspaper, magazine and radio polls. AFPC has been running its search for the most popular and most appealing automobiles in the market for five years now. Read more

Lancer Assembly Back to Filipino Hands

The return of the Mitsubishi Lancer to Philippine assembly lines was marked with the relaunch of the 2010 Lancer EX a few weeks ago.

The sedan was unveiled as the 500,000th unit to roll off Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.’s (MMPC) Rizal plant since 1964, when it began manufacturing in the country under Chrysler Philippines Corp.

The decision to revive local production instead of sourcing the vehicle from Thailand is claimed to boost MMPC’s manufacturing capabilities via a P200-million investment and also shield the unit from forex fluctuations, officials said.

Before this, Mitsubishi’s local unit only made utility vehicles, trucks, vans and buses. Read more

Local Hyundai Distributor Unveils All-New 2010 Tucson

With its functional styling, solid build quality, a choice between fuel-efficient gasoline and common-rail diesel engines, and a price tag that’s hard to beat, the Hyundai Tucson has been a perennial hot-seller in the compact SUV stakes.

And while that state of affairs might cause some automakers to rest on their laurels, Hyundai had absolutely no intention of doing so. Hence the head-turning all-new 2010 Tucson that was unveiled to much Gary V.-led song-and-dance fanfare last week at the A. Venue hall in Makati Ave.

With its provocative front end and curvaceous lines, the 2010 Tucson’s head-turning styling should handily vault it to the top of the wishlist of people shopping for a compact SUV. The flowing and graceful design starts at the front with a sexy hood character line, followed by a “Z” form side character line that exhibits a strong and artistic 3-dimensional embellishment for a dynamic sports car-like profile. Read more

Police Warns of Increased Incidents of Car Theft this Christmas Season

A sports utility vehicle (SUV) and a van were stolen in Quezon City the night of December 15, 2009, police said Wednesday while warning the public against a rise in car theft during the holidays.

Senior Inspector Rodelio Marcelo, chief of the Anti-Carnapping Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD-ANCAR), said the vehicles stolen were a white Toyota Fortuner (NAO-906) owned by Arnel Linipin, 40, and a white Nissan Urvan (conduction sticker LC-2268) of Adelio Cortes, 55.

Marcelo warned vehicle owners against car theft and petty crimes during the Christmas season.

He said a group of car thieves was targeting Toyota Vios, Toyota Fortuners and other SUVs.

The police official said that the Fortuner was forcibly taken by thieves at around 11:15 p.m. in front of the house of Linipin at No. 70 Wallnut St., Barangay West Fairview. Read more

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Achieves Milestone

May 5, 1964 marked a significant milestone in the Philippine automotive history as Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation or MMPC (then known as Chrysler Philippines) commenced the local production of models such as the Dodge Colt, Minica, Lancer and Cimarron. Since then, Mitsubishi has become a brand synonymous with quality and excellence. It comes as no surprise that MMPC marked their 500,000th unit of cumulative production with the recommencement of passenger car production at its sprawling Cainta plant after seven years of absence.

Though production and assembly at its 75,786 square-meter facility hasn’t stopped, MMPC concentrated its efforts on the assembly of commercial vehicles such as the Adventure and L300; and light-duty trucks like the Fuzo. However, as a part of its global strategy, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) invested P200 million to modernize and fully equip MMPC to assemble the award-winning Lancer EX compact sedan. In order to do so, improvements were made to MMPC’s facilities in the areas of new jigs & fixtures, new welding lines featuring spot-welding robots and all-new trim and final conveyor lines containing a new ECU coding system. All of these changes and improvements were made to make sure the locally-assembled Lancer EX meets the exacting global standards of MMC. Read more

Mitsubishi Philippines Targets 20% Share of RP Auto Market

Mitsubishi Motor Philippines Corp. (MMPC) is gunning for 20 percent market share in 2010 from the current 18 percent to cement its position as the country’s strong second biggest automotive player.

MMC executive vice-president Taizo Pat Furuhashi told Business Bulletin that they are eyeing to get 20 percent of the 132,000 auto sales target of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. for 2010.

“Our market share this year is 18 percent so next year we are targeting a market share of 20 percent,” said Furuhashi. This means sales target for MMPC of 26,000 units from about 24,000 units this year. Read more

Motolite Bags Isuzu Zero-Delay Award

Recognizing its reliability as an OE (original equipment) supplier for local automotive manufacturing companies, Oriental-Motolite Marketing Corporation was the recipient of a “Zero-Delay” Award from Isuzu Philippines Corporation. The award was given during the Isuzu Supplier Conference and Christmas Party held last November 20, at Manila Southwoods in Carmona, Cavite.

Because of Just-in-Time manufacturing practices imposed by Japanese car manufacturers, the “Zero-Delay” award is a highly-valued recognition of Motolite’s capability to maintain timely deliveries based on the production schedule imposed by Isuzu. For the whole year of 2008, Motolite was able to deliver Isuzu’s automotive battery requirements according to schedule. This is the second consecutive year that Motolite has received the “Zero-Delay” Award for its excellent delivery performance.

Motolite automotive batteries are designed using state-of-the art technology and are manufactured under the strictest standards. Motolite batteries carry the assurance of trusted dependability and long service life, as well as reliable performance even in extreme road and driving conditions. They also have patented Tropicalized® technology to withstand our hot weather. Read more

Philippine-Made Mazda3 Bags Award

For the third consecutive year, Philippine-built Mazda3 won the Thailand Initial Quality Study (IQS) in the mid-size car segment. This is according to a J.D. Power Asia Pacific Report which released the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 Thailand Initial Quality Study.

The study, which measures problems customers experience with their new vehicle during the first two to six months of ownership, examines more than 200 problem symptoms covering eight categories.

These categories, listed in order of frequency of reported problems, include: vehicle exterior; engine and transmission; driving experience; HVAC; audio, entertainment and navigation; features, controls and displays; vehicle interior; and seats.

Overall quality performance is determined by the problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. Read more

Universal Motors Corporation Doubles Sales of Urvan

Universal Motors Corp., the local assembler and distributor of Nissan commercial vehicles, has sold 6,000 units of Urvan under its “Ur Van, Ur Business” program for entrepreneurs.

UMC vice president Elizabeth H. Lee said the company has doubled its sales since the launch of its program in 2006.

At 6,000 units, the program has assisted 3,400 families and aided in the creation direct jobs to 4,400.

“Since its launch in 2006, Ur Van Ur Business has made a significant contribution to the lives of many people,” said Lee at Friday’s UMC thanksgiving event.

Lee said sales of Urvan had doubled to about 150 units a month from 70 units before the “Ur Van, Ur Business” campaign. Read more

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