San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is expecting to get hold of the first 10,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) coveralls from local garment manufacturers through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) today. This comes after the conglomerate completed delivery of 40,000 sets of protective gear to over 60 health facilities in the country.

The local manufacturers tapped by the DTI belong to the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP).

“We are inspired by how companies and individuals are coming together in new ways to address the challenges of COVID-19. We thank the DTI and the CONWEP for this. We stay committed to helping ease the strain on our medical system and protecting our medical health workers,” SMC president and COO Ramon S. Ang said.

Recently, SMC has started donating the first batch of ventilators to five public hospitals even as it awaits delivery of more machines along with high-flow oxygen devices for use in caring for COVID-19 patients.

These life-saving ventilators were delivered to Philippine General Hospital, San Lazaro Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, and Lung Center of the Philippines. Fifty-five units of high-flow oxygen device will also be delivered in the next coming days.

The latest donation is part of the P500-million fund San Miguel Corporation earmarked to help and protect medical front liners save lives in the fight against the deadly virus.

“Our medical front liners are in dire need of equipment to combat this pandemic. Again, I couldn’t be prouder of how everyone in our group is stepping up to the plate. They continue to work day and night to find ways to help our country overcome this unprecedented challenge,” said Ang.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official Philippine distributor of Hyundai passenger and commercial vehicles, reinforces ongoing containment efforts with a fresh supply of personal protective equipment to the front liners at UP-Philippine General Hospital (PGH). UP-PGH is one the country’s COVID-19 designated hospitals.

After a 10-week “deep dive” led by Ford’s newly appointed Chief Operating Officer, Jim Farley, the American carmaker is making leadership changes to its global automotive operations in a bid to fast track its transformation plan.

Lamborghini and Ferrari, two rival Italian supercar brands have switched their efforts to produce life-saving respirators and ventilators as part of its efforts against COVID-19.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the prospects of the Philippine automotive industry are looking dim this 2020. With the Taal Volcano ash fall and the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) knocking the wind out of car sales, Fitch Solutions is saying that new car sales will remain flat this year.

UPDATED: The DTI responds. See response below. (4/25).

The Philippine Automotive Dealers Association (PADA) has made an urgent appeal to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to allow them to re-open on a skeletal workforce basis by this week.

Ducati is finally getting its first-ever Lego treatment with the Lego Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R. The 646-piece set will be made available starting June 1, 2020 not just in Lego stores (both retail and online), but at Ducati dealerships and even through the Ducati online shop.

If you think the Golf is Volkswagen’s best-selling vehicle, think again. Last year, that record goes to the Tiguan compact SUV.

Volvo Cars is restarting production at its Torslanda plant in Sweden on Monday, April 20, following a short period of downtime related to the coronavirus pandemic.

On its nameplate’s 56th birthday, Ford is celebrating two global sales crowns—the world’s best-selling sportscar and its fifth straight best-selling sports coupe title. This is on top of being America’s best-selling sportscar of the last 50 years.

With the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) extended until the end of April, Suzuki Philippines (SPH) has decided to help front line health workers who face the daily challenge of commuting to and from their respective hospitals to provide service to COVID-19 patients.

With the DTI now classifying hardware items as essential goods under the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), you can start getting CTEK battery chargers delivered straight to your door.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Waze has activated its community and network of partners across its Volunteer Communities, Waze for Cities programs, and more, to support crisis response.

Bentley Motorsport has stepped into the world of esports by announcing entry into its debut sim racing championship, the SRO E-Sport GT Series, a six-round series held by the organizers of many of the manufacturer’s real-world GT3 races.

Lexus may be looking to expand its SUV line-up by introducing a brand-new model that’s supposedly its new flagship SUV—the Lexus LQ.

Update: Nissan has officially unveiled the 2021 X-Trail (aka Rogue). Details here. (6/15).

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Nissan’s still adamant to push through with several new production introductions this year, including the all-new X-Trail.

Nissan will begin making protective face shields for health care workers in Japan who are on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19.

A day after a chartered Philippine Airlines arrived carrying 40,000 sets of protective gear (PPEs), San Miguel Corporation (SMC) employee volunteers have begun repacking them for distribution to medical front liners.

Chery Auto officially launches the all-new second-generation Tiggo 7 compact SUV, a product that will spearhead the carmaker’s strong product offensive post COVID-19 China.

It’s not everyday that a carmaker can claim that they’ve re-invented the side view mirror, but that’s exactly what happened with Volvo’s performance-oriented all-electric brand, Polestar.

During these extraordinary days, every trip is essential to your family’s well-being and health. These are the days when you need your vehicle to perform at its best.

The “eyes” (and fingers) have it—BMW has easiest to use infotainment and climate control system, while MG has the worst. This is judged by UK-based What Car?.

Honda has just transformed 50 of its Odyssey MPVs to transport COVID-19 patients to hospitals and quarantine facilities in Japan. And they’ve done so without risking the driver from infection by sealing off the rear section.

A few weeks ago, Mazda dropped a huge surprise in showering their entire line-up with the 100th anniversary treatment. At the time, the Japanese carmaker revealed all sort of info except for one: the price. They said that the pricing will be made available “at a later date.” Well, that “later date” is now, because we now know how much they cost.

Under its flagship disaster relief program #HyundaiSAGIP, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) through H.A.R.I. Foundation, Inc. (HFI) rolls out its BIYAHEnihan program in Southern Luzon to support front liners.

Understanding that a strong aftersales program can make or break a brand, Chery Auto Philippines, under its new distributor, United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI) is pretty hyped up to show what they can now offer.

When the first-generation Toyota RAV4 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1994, few could have anticipated how this new concept would reshape the automotive industry. Since then, it ignited a whole new market for compact, agile, and versatile compact crossovers—SUVs ideally suited to modern life.

The Hyundai Veloster N is a performance surprise to many, but since the sole transmission is a 6-speed manual, its appeal is somewhat limited. Well, that’s about to change as Hyundai’s high-performance N division has just confirmed: an automatic transmission variant is coming.

To help further boost the transportation needs for the city’s front liners, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) extended its assistance to the local government of Santa Rosa City, Laguna by lending two L300 units.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has claimed another victim: the refreshed 2020 Impreza. Previewed at the Singapore Motor Show last January (alongside an infamous tricked out Forester), Subaru’s compact car was expected to bow in (or at least previewed) at the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS).

The RAV4 has joined the ranks of Toyota models that have achieved eight-figure sales. Cumulative figures for the compact SUV passed 10 million at the end of February this year, spanning five generations of the vehicle manufactured since 1994.

Korean SUV specialist SsangYong will use parent company Mahindra’s one-time cash infusion to help ease its liquidity concerns due to softening global demand brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last time, Ford was looking at using car parts in the production of much-needed respirators in the fight against COVID-19. Now, they’re expanding that by using airbags to produce Personal Protective Equipment or PPE gowns.

Following up on its March 27 lend-out of Isuzu D-Max, Isuzu mu-X, and Isuzu PUVs as front liner transport vehicles in Biñan and Sta. Rosa Laguna.  Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) lent out two additional Isuzu units—one Isuzu NLR and one Isuzu QKR modern PUVs.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a brand that encourages the pursuit of dreams, and now a new generation of aspiring designers are being encouraged to bring their automotive dreams to life through a special ‘Young Designer Competition’.

With the extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine over Luzon until April 30, 2020, there’s a bit of good news: extended retail hours for essential goods and services.

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) paints a grim picture facing the Japanese automotive industry as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, and outlines the commitment of JAMA members to keep that from happening.

The all-new 2020 Honda City managed to score a perfect 5-star ASEAN New Car Assessment Program (ASEAN NCAP) safety rating.

Known as a manufacturer of motorcycles, automobiles, and outboard motors, Suzuki Motors is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, but little do you know that Suzuki Philippines is also celebrating its own milestone this year.

Polymetal Gray Metallic finally comes to the smallest member of the Mazda family, the Mazda2, this April (at least if you live in Japan).

Europeans love hatchbacks like the Golf, which has spent over four decades at the top of the sales charts. Yet, in contrast, the world market is still dominated by compact sedans. In Volkswagen’s case, they account for almost one third of global sales with 1.6 million sold in China alone.

For those stuck at home during this period of the Enhanced Community Quarantine, why don’t you use this opportunity to brush up on a bit of automotive history. Honda is now making the Honda Origins available on its website or via YouTube.

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has donated fuel to support government’s Libreng Sakay program for health workers and other front liners providing critical service to the country in these difficult times.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation has announced that due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine, it is extending all expiring warranties and offering a grace period for all missed Periodic Service Maintenance (PMS).

With just a 33 percent chance to win, the Kia Telluride pulled off an upset by getting crowned as the 2020 World Car of the Year. It beat the two other finalists, the Mazda CX-30 and Mazda3 to be the first Korean automaker to win the top prize.

The Porsche Taycan scores a double win as the 2020 World Performance Car of the Year and 2020 World Luxury Car of the Year.

Design experts and journalists have spoken: the Mazda3 is the best designed car in the world. This comes as the compact car was judged the 2020 World Car Design of the Year.

Feeling blue during this Enhanced Community Quarantine? Well, Motor Image Pilipinas, the exclusive distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines is still giving you the chance to test drive, albeit in a very different way.

For those who think the 305-horsepower MG 6 is still too tame, well, how about this 450-horsepower MG ZS then?

When Luzon entered into Enhanced Community Quarantine last month, we gave tips on which products you can use to clean your interior. For a quick refresher, you can check it out here. Moving forward though, which particular areas should be cleaned?