Motoring Today Column

Jan 04, 2023

Looking back on 2022, we can say that the automotive industry, and the country as well, may have finally freed itself from the yoke of a pandemic that slowed the industry down for more than two years.

The year saw the industry continue to show the resilience that allowed it to rebound from the depths of a pandemic that restricted production, distribution and sales.

Automakers and distributors continued to expand dealership networks and adapting them to global standards of brand excellence.

Even more all-new and upgraded models were launched with all the latest in technologies making automobiles all the more safer, comfortable and fun-to drive, not to mention all the more connected to the digital world.

And there are those who say that maybe 2022 saw the beginning of a shift towards greater use of electric vehicles.

All this made 2022 a remarkable year for both the industry and the community it serves - motorists, auto enthusiasts, and everyone benefiting from use of motor vehicles.

Looking beyond 2022, many can say with confidence that we are past the brink toward normalcy.

The industry has driven up sales while improving services and expanding networks of dealerships, and offering more and better automotive products.

We can sense that industry will continue to do so but at a more intense level. It is no longer about recovery. The year 2023 should be all about competition, growth, and change.

The local automotive market has a lot more players in all brackets from entry level to premium, all wanting to grow their share of the market expected to be free of all restrictions in the New Year.

Even more exciting and significant is the trend towards use of battery-powered mobility - from those pesky two- and three-wheeled electric bikes and scooters to mild hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and full electrics.

Already the local market offers EVs from the ultra cheap to the mega expensive and the EVIDA provides incentives for their use and establishing an infrastructure supporting the transition to an electrified future for mobility.

The year 2022 also saw authorities easing restrictions more and more, the government wanting to force a return to normalcy and allow the economy to breathe more freely and grow.

Authorities and the private sector intensified efforts to push through with projects, policies, and plans to recover from the effects of the pandemic and thrive in the new normal.

Projects fast-tracked during the lockdowns, modernization programs aimed at providing a more efficient public transport and improving traffic -- elevated tollways, the subway project, light rail transit and PNR rehab and extensions - were continued in 2022.

The Libreng Sakay and the Service Contract Programs, and other measures aimed to provide transport for people returning to work and students going back to school were maintained even as a new administration took over in the middle of the year following the May elections.

Government moved to further ease what are now called Alert Levels, allowing people back in malls, restos back to full capacity, schools mandated to return to face-to-face classes.

People reveled in the returned freedoms, but this also saw the return of past problems, including traffic congestion and lack of public transport.

The return of the so-called coding schemes to reduce the number of vehicles on major thoroughfares at certain hours didn't help.

Road closures prompted by infrastructure projects including the Metro Subway, more elevated tollways exacerbated traffic woes.

The rise in the number of two- and three-wheel electric vehicles on major thoroughfares in the metro, encouraged at the height of the pandemic, added to chaos on the streets.

The year 2022 also saw a number of controversies, including the legality of the Non-Contact Apprehension Scheme being questioned before the Supreme Court.

Bus and jeepney fares were raised. LRT fare increases were aired and denied.

And all year long, fuel prices hurt motorists and public transport operators.

But overall, despite the return of past motoring and commuting problems, people are just happy to be freer to travel, freer to move around in the city and to go motoring to the countryside.

Start-Stop Battery

The past year also saw more automobiles with start-stop engine technology which is said to help improve fuel economy, ideal powertrains in this time of high fuel prices.

Start-stop engines put a strain on batteries.

So it comes as no surprise that Motolite has developed batteries that are engineered to work with start-stop engines.

One is the Motolite EXCEL EFB, which the country's top battery brand says has been designed for extended performance, able to endure the punishing demand of start-stop engines on premium vehicles, even under extreme local road and weather conditions.

Motolite also is making available the EXCEL AGM.

Happy Motoring!!!

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