“The company is here to stay”

Those were the exact final words of Mr. Yoshiaki Kato, president & ceo of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) in closing his speech during the auspicious day that marked the roll off of MMPC’s 600,000^th unit last week at their Sta. Rosa plant.

The words came as an assurance of MMPC’s strength and courage in committing to stay in the country despite recently facing several external hurdles and challenges as reported in international news releases.

The production milestone came within MMPC’s 53 years of existence in the country as one of the major players in the automotive manufacturing industry. MMPC started in the early 60s manufacturing iconic models such as the Dodge Colt, Minica F4, Lancer and Cimarron aside from the Mitsubishi trucks.

The MMPC president further cited that despite the debilitating periods of recession during the years of Martial Rule and the late 80s, Mitsubishi did not cease its Philippine operations. Further proof of its unrelenting commitment in pursuing manufacturing operations in the country is its recent application to the CARS Program of the government, which only awaits the release of its Certificate of Registration by the BOI or the Board of Investments.

“I’m happy to announce that we shall soon be holding a ground breaking ceremony of MMPC’s new press shop facility with an investment of more than Php2 Billion. Next year with the production of the Mirage as nameplate of our participating model in the CARS Program our production volume is expected to reach over 35,000 units in 2017, which is approximately 66 percent higher than our production plan this year,” confidently declared the MMPC president.

The 600,000^th unit that was rolled off was a Mitsubishi Adventure, which started production in 1997 and introduced in the market in 1998, the year when MMPC was able to top overall industry sales.

Congratulations to Mitsubishi Motors Philippines.

Want to see the All-New Civic and win a prize?

I’m sure many of you already know that the All-New Honda Civic has just been recently launched and they are now accepting reservations prior to its market release, which is very soon.

In the meantime, Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI) has decided since May 15 to bring the All-New Civic closer to its early awaiting buyers via a tour of its leading dealerships.

Here are the remaining dates of the tour and the dealership venue and the variant that would be displayed: Carmona from May 28 – 31 (1.8E), Alabang from May 31 – June 1(RS Turbo), Greenhills from June 2 – 5 (1.8E), Marcos Highway from June 7- 8 (1.8E), Pasig from June 7 -9 (RS Turbo) and Makati from June 11 – 12 (1.8E).

HCPI also announced that customers who go and see the All-New Civic even get the opportunity to win special prizes by simply taking a photo of their favorite variant and posting it on their Facebook or Instagram accounts. Customers who wish to enter their photo should simply tag Honda Cars Philippines Facebook or Instagram account and use the hashtag “#CivicReborn”.

People’s Choice for Automobile of the Year—who’s leading?

Here’s an update on how the awards for Automobile of the Year—People’s Choice are shaping up as we combine the votes being cast online and the actual sales of the models.

Standard                                 Luxury

1. Isuzu MU-X                         1. Mercedes-Benz E200

2. Mitsubishi Montero Sport 2. Mercedes-Benz V 220d

3. Toyota Hiace                      3. Honda Odyssey

4. Toyota Innova                   4. Chrysler 300C

5. Honda Mobilio                   5. Mercedes-Benz C200 AMG

6. Toyota Hilux                      6. Mercedes-Benz A200 AMG

7. Isuzu Crosswind                7. Volkswagen Beetle

8. Isuzu DMax                        8. Volkswagen Golf GTI

9. Ford Everest                      9. Jeep Grand Cherokee

10.Honda City                                    10. Volkswagen Passat

You can vote for your favorite automobile models online (autofocus.com.ph) and win valuable prizes from its daily electronic raffles.

Here’s what’s on Auto Focus this week

The weekly TV treat for automobile enthusiasts, Auto Focus airs every Thursday evening at 10 o’clock on Solar Sports (Channel 70 on Sky Cable and Channel 35 on Destiny).

And for this week we’ll have the review of the 2016 Volkswagen Passat and a “head-to-head” between two all-new, top-selling midsize SUVs, the Toyota Fortuner and the Mitsubishi Montero Sport.

On Autos of the World, where we spotlight newly launched, about to be launched and concept automobile models we’ll have on center stage the 2017 Subaru Impreza and the 2017 BMW i3.

We’ll also have the highlights of the recently held MIAS at the World Trade Center together with the latest news and developments in the local auto industry.

Don’t fail to watch!

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments (e-mail) [email protected]