Category: Motoring

Bosch inaugurates first Car Service workshop in Davao

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Global automotive supplier partners with Pitstop to lead high-level car service to regional motorists. With more than 80 years of presence in the Philippines, global automotive product and service provider Robert Bosch, Inc. continues to deliver unmatched dedication and value to the local automotive industry.

To solidify its commitment to Filipino motorists and vehicle owners, Bosch recently opened its first Car Service workshop in Davao City with regional partner Pitstop.

During the one day event, Pitstop showcased first-class Bosch automotive parts and services, which allowed participants to experience cross-brand repair and maintenance solutions first-hand. Pitstop extends the high-level automotive reliability and excellence of the Bosch brand and provides the Davao community with its extensive product portfolio and after sales service to ensure superior vehicle performance.The effort also seeks to strengthen networks and develop business opportunities in the Davao region.

“Bosch carries the largest independent car service workshop network worldwide and consistently strives to cultivate the automotive sector while providing comprehensive and cutting edge technology to partners and customers,” said Bosch Philippines Automotive Aftermarket Division Senior Officer for Business Development Peewee Ligot. “Our recent partnership with Pitstop not only installs a regional mark to maximize our automotive expertise in one of the fastest-growing business hubs in the country, but also allows Davaoeños to get premium cross-brand car engineering and maintenance at an affordable price.”

As vehicles become more sophisticated with the progress of technology, independent workshop owners are faced with the challenge of responding to new and complex demands in maintaining automobile power and performance. Bosch supports these units by offering a full range of standard diagnostic programs and automobile equipment to take engine service a step higher.

Known for high global automotive quality, Bosch ensures that each local car service outfit is able to meet the professional benchmark and deliver solutions for unique customer needs. Bosch Car Service workshops are regularly exposed to facility tests, technical upgrades, skill and knowledge improvement program, and business development training and support to uphold Bosch’s core competencies.

“Bosch’s passion for service is reflected on its strong workshop community. We are looking forward to bringing top-level vehicular assessment and maintenance closer to Davao’s community of car owners,” added Ligot.

Bosch seeks to strengthen and forge ties with key stakeholders in Visayas and Mindanao to steer expert automotive service in the country.

Peter Tyroller takes over responsibility for Bosch in Asia Pacific

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The supervisory board of the Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technologies and services, appointed Peter Tyroller to take over the responsibility for Asia Pacific effective from July 1, 2013.


Based in Shanghai, PR China, he will  be responsible for Southeast  Asia and all other countries in the Asia Pacific  region. “Asia Pacific will continue to be the main driver  of growth for Bosch and I am honored  to take over the responsibility for this important region,” commented Peter Tyroller  on his new assignment. He has been a member  of the Bosch board  of management  since 2006. Up to now, he has been responsible for marketing and sales, original  equipment sales, and the Automotive Aftermarket division.

Asia Pacific main growth region for Bosch

“In 2012, Asia Pacific already contributed 24 percent  to the global  sales of the Bosch Group and we have made it our target to increase this figure  to 30 percent over the mid-term,” said Tyroller.  “Over the next few years, Asia Pacific will see the Bosch Group’s highest  capital expenditure and biggest workforce increases. Southeast  Asia will  continue to play an important role for the further development of the region,” he added. In 2013, the company will invest around 680 million euros in the region.

With his new role Peter Tyroller  assumes the responsibility for Asia Pacific from Uwe Raschke, who was responsible for the region since 2008 and has been assigned  with  the regional  responsibility for Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as for the worldwide responsibility for the Consumer  Goods business sector  since January 2013. Additionally, Tyroller will  assume responsibility for India previously held by Bernd Bohr, who isto retire  after 30 years with  Bosch.

“From  2008 to 2012, we registered sales growth of 60 percent  in Asia Pacific,” resumed Uwe Raschke the progress  in the region during his tenure. “To support these developments, the workforce in Asia Pacific has been growing steadily,  as has capital  expenditure. We have expanded  our presence  in the region, in particular in China and Southeast  Asia,” he added. In 2012, Bosch increased  its sales by 5.6 percent  to 12.6 billion euros in the region.

Strong focus on R&D in Asia Pacific

Thanks to the growing strength of local marketing and R&D presence, Bosch has gained a sound understanding of what our customers  in Asia Pacific’s  diverse markets  want. There are now 13,800  engineers  based in the region – 2,200 more than one year ago and five times as many as just five years ago. And by the end of the decade, this number  will have doubled. “We are particularly concentrating on products that  are tailored to their  respective markets. Especially  in emerging  markets, the local mid­ priced segment is growing the fastest,” said Tyroller.

Southeast Asia fastest-growing region for Bosch

Southeast  Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world for Bosch. In 2012, Bosch grew by 30 percent in the region, year on year, amounting to some 702 million euros. With  a buoyant  economy, emerging  markets  and a huge population, Southeast  Asia is a prime  region  for Bosch to further expand its footprint and sales growth, and maintain its double-digit growth momentum for the coming  years. Employing  over 5,500 associates in the region  as of 1Jan 2013, the company  is also expecting to increase its workforce steadily  in tandem with its business growth.

Bosch further increased its footprint in Southeast Asia with  the opening  of a representative office  in Yangon, Myanmar, earlier this year in April, and offices  beyond the capital  cities  of Thailand and the Philippines into  Chiang Mai and Cebu respectively in May this year. Last year, the company expanded into  Da Nang, Vietnam, and Medan, Indonesia.  This year, it broadened its presence in Indonesia into  Balikpapan.

Bosch upholds  a long-standing commitment to social responsibility. Together  with  financial support, like in 2011 when Bosch donated  190,000 euros in emergency  relief to help the communities affected  by the floods  in Thailand,  Bosch associates have also demonstrated this commitment  through corporate volunteerism. In addition to charity  and relief  efforts, the Bosch approach to social  responsibility focuses very heavily on education with  projects across Southeast  Asia.

Caltex TB Awareness Drive Wins in New York’s Gold Quill Awards

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For helping public transport drivers in Metro Manila and their families prevent tuberculosis (TB) by dispelling facts from myths about the disease, the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) awarded the Gold Quill Award of Merit to Chevron Philippines Inc.

Chevron marketer of the Caltex brand. A Quill Award is a much coveted award that honors exemplary achievements in communication research, programs, skills and creative work.   Photo above shows Chevron Business Communications Supervisor Elaine Beliakoff after accepting the trophy in behalf of Chevron during the IABC Gold Quill Awards Gala last June 24, 2013, in New York, USA.

The “Labanan ang TB Para Tsuper Healthy” (lit. Fight TB so drivers can be healthy) awareness campaign won in the celebrated Communication Management Division, Corporate Social Responsibility category.  The campaign established strong partnership with the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Metro Bus Operators Assoc. (MBOA), and the city health offices of Makati, Manila and Quezon City.  About 12,545 public transport workers increased their TB awareness through anti-TB communication materials and trainings held by Caltex.

The Caltex TB awareness drive has also won an Excellence Award for the same category in the IABC Philippine Quill Awards and an Anvil Award with the Public Relations Society of the Philippines.

Caltex reminds public of the dangers of static electricity when refueling

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The rainy season is here and so are thunderstorms. Though motorists have little to fear from lighting strikes, Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of the Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants, reminds drivers that there is a different kind of electricity that all motorists should be aware of. Static electricity has been known to cause fires in in gasoline stations.

A video in YouTube (search gas station fire, static electricity starts flash fire) shows a woman refueling at gas station when suddenly the nozzle catches fire.  What happened is that the woman gets in the car again while refueling. Static electricity caused by friction with the car seat builds up in her. When she reaches for the nozzle there was a discharge of static electricity which ignites the fuel vapor. It’s a miracle the woman did not get burned.

The Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI) has found that static electricity the same thing that zaps you after you drag your feet on the carpet can ignite gasoline vapors at the pump. Since 1992, almost 200 incidents have been reported to PEI that appear to be caused by static electrical discharge.

Friction with the car seats and carpet generates electrostatic charges in the driver and passengers’ body.  The body voltage rises due to this charge. When occupants reach to touch the vehicle door, the electrostatic discharge and shock occurs as their hand approaches the metal door.  If voltage is not discharged through the car, electrostatic will discharge through the next thing that the driver touches like the fuel pump nozzle which may be surrounded by flammable vapor especially during refueling.

Mike Gotardo, CPI Health, Environment and Safety Specialist for Asia Pacific, advises drivers “to always turn of engines when refueling, never re-enter vehicle while refueling, and never smoke while refueling.  Caltex service stations have helpful attendants who do all the refueling for motorists. The golden rule is to leave the refueling to the professionals. ”

“If fuel must be handled, say to power up generators during brownouts, use only approved containers. Place the container on the ground. Remove plastic handles. Use bare hands so that you ground yourself.  Do not use rubber gloves and synthetic materials, such as nylon or polypropylene rope.  Do not remove clothing, such as jacket or sweater where flammable vapors might exist, as these might cause a static spark,” Gotardo adds.

CPI supports a culture of safety and environmental stewardship that strives to achieve world-class performance and prevent all incidents.

Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Kiefer Ravena is new Suzuki endorser

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Photo above shows (L-R) Suzuki Philippines’ Managing Director/Treasurer Catalina Calderon, Kiefer Ravena, Suzuki Philippines’ President Satoshi Uchida, and Suzuki Philippines’ General Manager for Automobile Shuzo Hoshikura during the contract signing.

Suzuki Philippines Inc., the only integrated automobile and motorcycle company in the country, recently signed basketball star and Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles’ Kiefer Ravena as the endorser of Suzuki automobiles.


Known worldwide for their stylish designs, excellent performance, and optimum fuel efficiency, Suzuki cars promise to take the Philippine motoring experience to a whole new level. Bringing in Kiefer to the driver’s seat, Suzuki aims to tap the young and active market and introduce them to the elegant form, powerful engine, confidence-inspiring feel, and uncompromised safety and comfort that Suzuki automobiles offer.

Uchida shares, “We are very happy to welcome Kiefer to our Suzuki family. With his impressive performance in basketball leagues such as the UAAP, he has demonstrated the passion, drive, and commitment to excellence reflected by each of our car models. We believe that Kiefer could best embody our ‘Way Of Life’ brand philosophy.”

For more information about the Suzuki Philippines and their latest car models, please visit http://www.suzuki.com.ph/automobile/automobile/.