AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup: An electrified week and our first award!

And just like that, it’s the final Sunday of April!

After all of us have been roasted this entire month, it seems more and more powerful rains are coming in. Although these will certainly help us cool off, there’s also a chance of contending with floods that go past our ears.

Despite the looming showers, some of our stories this past week were certainly hot. Check out your five favorites from April 24 to 28, 2023 on this edition of AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup.

₱800K off!

When the price of something gets slashed by ₱800,000, you will always pay attention, regardless of what it is.

In this case, it’s the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle (EV), which got a price cut from ₱2,798,000 to ₱1,998,000.

The LEAF is one of the first EVs sold in the Philippines. Would you now consider giving it a closer look, now that its price is more palatable?

Cheaper EVs ahead!

Everyone has heard of the wonders of lithium-ion batteries, whether it’s for electronic devices or electric cars.

But Chinese battery manufacturers BYD and CATL are now starting to roll out a big leap in battery technology – sodium-ion. They claim these new packs will be safer and cheaper than previous batteries.

Will sodium-ion battery packs “recharge” the electric revolution?

What’s in a name?

Hybrid cars have been around for ages, but “mild” hybrids are a recent innovation.

AutoFun Philippines Junior Writer Joey Deriquito looks into the technology behind mild hybrids like the Geely Okavango and the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid. 

Can you really save money with cars like these?

Rapide rival

Finding a good mechanic or service shop is tough, especially with all the unscrupulous grease monkeys out there.

The Rapide chain attempted to solve this issue by consolidating a group of service centers under a single brand with a unified set of standards. But it will soon face competition from one of the biggest names in car parts.

Japanese manufacturer Aisin said it is planning to set up not only its own chain of service centers, but also a mall with enough parts to build an entire car with.

Given Aisin’s affiliation with car manufacturing giant Toyota, will Aisin service centers gain the trust of Filipinos?

We won!

AutoFun Philippines is one of the newest motoring publications in the country, starting out in early 2022.

But it has already grabbed the attention of the entire industry after we bagged the Best Automotive Writer title at the 22nd Henry Ford Awards (HFA).

Conducted by Ford Philippines, the HFA is the most prestigious motoring journalism award in the country. This accolade is not only because of our publication’s extremely high editorial standards, but also because of your trust in our work.

We hope that this will be the first of many that we will all share.

AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup runs every Sunday. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on TikTok and Instagram!

And don’t forget to rate all of our stories using the stars below each article. It will help us develop stories that you enjoy!