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AutoDeal Weekly News Recap June 13-17: a rundown of the last 120 hours

Martin Aguilar on Jun 18, 2016

For the last 120 hours, we published a number of notable local and foreign automotive news. In case you were too busy preparing for Father’s Day, here’s a recap of the latest in the automotive industry.

Local News Recap

The Board of Investments (BOI) recently approved both Mitsubishi’s and Toyota’s participation in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program. As a review, the CARS program intends to boost local vehicle manufacturing and it aims to attract P27 billion new investments, manufacture 600,000 more vehicles, and add PHP 300 Billion to the domestic economy (equivalent to 1.7 percent of gross domestic product).

With this, participating auto manufacturers of the CARS program will have to comply with performance-based terms and conditions. These include a minimum output of 200,000 vehicles over the program’s 6-year time period.

On the other hand, Ford Philippines reported that its sales were up by 78% in May 2016. The Everest led the positive sales performance of the brand with 1,069 units sold last month. The EcoSport also did well with 848 units sold while the Ranger registered 786 units.

Foreign News Recap

Hyundai revealed the Veloster-based RM16 concept during this year’s Busan International Motor Show. This is the latest member of Hyundai’s ‘N’ model concept and its design incorporates the “form follows function” principle. The RM16 concept is fitted with an aerodynamic body along with a low-extended hood, a large mesh grille, side air intakes, and an automatically controlled rear spoiler. Under the hood, it is powered by a 2.0L T-GDI inline-4 mid-mounted engine that puts out 300 hp and 383 Nm of torque. It is then mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.

Moving on, the Mazda MX-5 received a 5-star safety rating from the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). It got 35.2 points out of a possible 37 overall points. The ANCAP also scored the MX-5 with 33.72 points out of a possible 36 points in the Pedestrian Protection category.

For more of the latest automotive news, visit the AutoDeal Blog Section.