PORSCHE said it would have invested more than $7 billion in its electromobility projects by 2022, which will come on top of “sizeable investments in its sports car business.” Spending will focus on derivatives of its Mission E model, hybridization and electrification of its current model range, as well as on developing smart mobility and charging infrastructure.

BLUECHEM products have been used exclusively in various auto dealerships in the Philippines since 2009. Now, the German brand’s range of cleaners and flushers for engines and transmissions can be purchased directly by consumers through select stores and online channels.

I ask the question because the market research firm Millward Brown has just released its annual brand equity report called the “BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands.” In it, the biggest companies in the world are ranked according to their so-called brand value. So first, a definition: What exactly is brand value?

IF you ask the experts, nothing quite beats the insight and experience of getting behind the steering wheel in order to firm up impressions about a vehicle. Yes, amid all the resources and tools -- mostly online -- available to the contemporary car buyer, it is unwise to pull the trigger on a sale without even taking the car for “a spin,” even if that merely consists of a drive around the block and, with luck, a brief moment of heightened speed.

THE anticipation and hype surrounding Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) newest compact SUV, the Toyota Rush, weeks prior to its grand public launch last May 5 and 6 was rivaled only by the guessing game around where the leading auto manufacturer would go for this year’s edition of its annual Road Trek event.

DELIVERIES to customers of the new Mitsubishi Xpander has begun as the first shipment of the compact MPV model arrived in the Philippines in May. The Xpander is built in Indonesia.

THE Honda CR-V is sold in the Philippines in three variants fitted with small-displacement, diesel-fed engines. A fourth variant -- the 2.0 S -- relies on a gasoline mill. Among the litter it’s the 2.0 S that’s the cheapest. But this does not mean it isn’t as appealing as the diesel CR-Vs.

THE distributor of Chevrolet in the Philippines, The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI), announced it is offering until June 30 low all-in down payment schemes for the 2018 versions of the Chevrolet Sail 1.3 LT MT, Spark 1.4 LT MT, Trax LS AT and Trailblazer LT 4x2 LT AT.

I have spent more than two decades traveling the world attending car launches and driving the latest vehicles. For the most part, this is because the Philippine market has always been treated as a relatively insignificant territory vis-à-vis other countries that sell more cars. As far as product-planning is concerned, we have always been an afterthought.

VOLKSWAGEN’s 2013 return to the Philippines, under the automobile business of Ayala Corporation, relied heavily on the cheerful, nostalgia-filled vibe of the Beetle --...

ASTON Martin during the May 11 opening of its AMR Performance Center in Nurburgring, Germany, introduced the new DB11 AMR, which replaced the V12...

THE No. 912 Porsche 911 GT3 R on May 13 won the 24 Hours Nurburgring endurance race. The car fielded by the Manthey Racing...