ARIANNE Colene Jalalon has confirmed the report that Inchcape Philippines and Changan have mutually agreed not to renew their distribution partnership in the Philippines, as Changan advances its long-term plans for the Philippine market.
‘The partnership is now in a transition period that will run through Q4 [fourth quarter] 2026,’ Jalalon said.
Existing customer commitments, including aftersales, warranty, parts and service support remain valid throughout the transition period.
Jalalon cited the statement of Alex Hammett, managing director, South Asia and Pacific, Inchcape:
‘Since 2023, Inchcape Philippines and Changan have worked together to build the Changan brand in the Philippines, supported by Inchcape’s local expertise, distribution capabilities and dealer network.
‘We are committed to supporting our customers, colleagues, dealers and business partners through this transition, and I would like to thank our team at Inchcape Philippines and our dealer partners for their valuable contribution to building and supporting the Changan brand in the Philippines over the past three years.
‘The Philippines remains an important market for Inchcape, with the company continuing to distribute Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, trucks and buses, as well as Jaguar Land Rover, and operating the retail business of Harley-Davidson. Inchcape’s focus is on continuing to grow our existing portfolio and bringing new products to our customers in the Philippines.’
The country is also home to Inchcape’s Digital Delivery Centre and Global Business Services teams, which together employ more than 700 colleagues and support Inchcape’s global operations.
Further information on arrangements following the transition period will be communicated once these are confirmed.
Good luck, fellas.
HIGHEST CAR SALES
JULY proved to be the highest monthly sales for cars in 2026, according to Elvin Luciano. This is significant as this is just five months away from December, the traditional ‘rush hour time’ to buy that dream car for everyone.
In a statement, Luciano said the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) reported total sales of 37,319 units in July. Combine the data with sales estimates of other automotive brands and you will have a total of industry sales of 42,880, which is the highest monthly sales yet for the year.
‘With this continuous growth, the industry is riding on a good momentum. We are hopeful that the positive trend will continue for the remainder of the year,’ said CAMPI president Jose Maria ‘Jing’ Atienza.
DEMAND
WHILE demand for Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles remains strong, July’s 2026 growth mainly came from the increased supply of Electrified Vehicles (xEVs), reflecting more than doubled sales versus last year.
‘The shift to electrification continues to accelerate, with xEV’s accounting for 29.5 percent of the market in July. This is up 18 points from same month last year,’ Atienza added.
Of the CAMPI-TMA member brands, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) leads July monthly sales at 17,797 units.
It is followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. with 6,271 units, Suzuki Philippines Inc. 1,689, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.1,256 and Ford Group Philippines Inc. 1,152 units.
It is worth noting, too, that sales of xEVs continue to rise, eating up on ICE sales performance. It can only mean one thing: We are becoming conscious of developing, preserving, a clean environment brought on by an electrified mobility.
PEE STOP Congratulations to Mitsubishi for its successful launch recently of its Plug-In All-New Outlander PHEV at Solaire North, Quezon City, that saw a huge flock of car devotees in attendance, according to Nelda Castro. Cheers!… Allana Faith Rufo reports that the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup Race Weekend 4 will be held on Sept. 12, Saturday, at Clark International Speedway in Angeles City, Pampanga. Admission is free as usual to the event serving as the culmination of the TGR racing extravaganza this year… Car repair shops are flooded with vehicles that got submerged in Metro floods as a result of continuous rains the past two weeks or so, triggered mostly by habagat (monsoon rains). Indeed, for every crisis comes an opportunity for others. As in some lawyers earning a fortune from, ummm, the misfortune of others.
HEAD coach Tim Cone will confidently settle for an 11-man team in the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games where the Philippines will be defending the men’s 5-on-5 gold medal.
‘There’s a chance that we will only have 11 players,’ Cone told a virtual press conference with Philippine media from their team hotel in Suwon, South Korea, where Gilas Pilipinas is has tune-up games ahead of the Asian Games.
‘If we look back at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament two years ago, we lost Scottie Thompson right before the tournament and we ended up going with 11, and we didn’t miss a beat,’ Cone explained.
Thomspon was sidelined by back issues and missed the OQT with Latvia in July 2024 with Gilas Pilipinas notching a FIBA upset with an 89-80 away victory in Riga.
‘I think we will be fine. These guys are all willing to play extended minutes. I think 11 is a really good number from a coaching standpoint.’
Spot No. 12 on the team, Cone stressed, has been reserved for Justin Brownlee.
‘We have kept that 12th sport open for Justin if he could make it,’ Cone said. ‘We have no confirmation yet from him if he is going to be here or not…the door is still open for him.’
Brownlee is recovering from hamstring and ankle injuries in San Diego, California.
Cone said that a 12th new player will be more difficult ‘logistically-wise’ and that changing lineups and infusion of game strategies would be a challenge.
‘At this point, we do not have a 12th player in mind to come over, we are ready to play all-Filipino,’ he said.
Cone also dismissed getting someone from the Gilas team that played against Jordan and Iraq in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asia Qualifiers only last weekend in Manila.
‘Based on experience, looking back at the Incheon Asian Games [2014], we got the Madrid World Cup Gilas team under coach Chot [Reyes] that beat Senegal,’ Cone said. ‘But when they competed in the Asiad, they were already totally exhausted and tired.’
That team finished seventh place in the games.
‘So we just decided to have two teams, one for the windows and one for Asiad this time,’ he added.
Cone’s 11 players are RJ Abarrientos, Brandon Bates, Zav Lucero, Don Trollano, Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, Sedrick Barefield, Adrian Nocum, Robert Bolick, Brandon Rosser-Ganuelas and Jerrick Ahanmisi.
The team will polish its chemistry against South Korea’s national teams on Friday and Sunday at the Hana Bank Invitational at the Suwon Arena.
Asian Games basketball in Nagoya start way ahead of the September 19 opening ceremony with the Philippines facing Bahrain on September 11, Kazakhstan on September 12 and China on September 14 in Group C action.
Basketball will be played at the Aichi International Arena.