Zigwheels Weekly Wrap-up for Feb. 8-14

MANILA: The automotive industry had a lot of things going on and we will not be surprised if you will miss the biggest story or two this week.

So, we in Zigwheels Philippines compiled the biggest stories that we had from February 8 up until today to let you catch up with the happenings in the automotive industry here and abroad.

Various vehicle marques are showing their aggressive strides in the country as a Chinese brand had its brand relaunch following the creation of its local arm while a Japanese automaker will make a hefty investment in the country that will expand its production capabilities.

Aside from that, we also reported  some models that will be unveiled locally.

Abroad, two firms announced the end of their possible business integration program.

Geely’s brand relaunch

Last Wednesday, Geely announced its formal re-entry to the Philippine market.

The relaunching of Geely Motor Philippines — now managed by the brand’s newly-formed subsidiary — also coincided with the unveiling of the new insignia as well as the new and upcoming offerings such as:

• New Coolray
• New Emgrand
• All-new EX5

Mitsubishi to further its existing investments in PH

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation will add P7 billion in its existing investments that will be rolled out in a span of five years.

During his courtesy call in During his courtesy call in Malacañang, MMC President and Chief Executive Officer Takao Kato told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the plan will lead to the production of a new model at its distributor’s facility in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Currently, MMPC is manufacturing the following models in the country namely:

• Mirage
• Mirage G4
• L300

Aside from the Philippines, MMC has production facilities in:

Japan	Vietnam
Thailand	China
Indonesia	Russia

Nissan-Honda end biz merger talks

Just recently, Nissan and Honda ended the discussions regarding their possible business integration, which started last December.

While the merger will no longer happen, the companies said that it will continue their collaboration  within the framework of a strategic partnership aimed at the era of intelligence and electrified vehicles.

Following this, Nissan also said that it will “rightsize” its manufacturing plants to streamline costs.

Possible vehicle launches

Zigwheels Philippines also shared some of the models that will be revealed in the country soon.

Two of the Philippines-bound offerings are the Yamaha Bolt R-Spec BDUB and BYD EMAX7. The nameplates came out on separate Land Transportation Office memorandum circulars, which gave initial information about the vehicle.

So there you have it,  the biggest news in the industry for the week. To receive your regular dose of motoring-related information, you can always go to the Zigwheels Philippines page.

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