History of The Manila International Auto Show
In South East Asia, the Philippines is one of the seats of automotive history. In the years after World War II, the Philippines became an attractive venue for foreign investment. Japanese companies seeking to expand their market penetration established factories in this country. There were notable early successes: In 1955, Mercedes-Benz established an assembly plant in the Philippines that was the first in the world outside of Germany, to produce its E-Class sedan. In 1972, GM established a jointly owned vehicle and transmission manufacturing operation in the Philippines with two Philippine companies. In 1979, Isuzu Motors invests in the venture, GM Pilipinas, Inc.
During the Martial Law regime of Ferdinand Marcos, foreign investment dried up, and most car companies shuttered their operations in the country. Stalwarts such as Toyota and Ford stopped producing and selling cars. GM Pilipinas’ assembly and transmission plants ceased operation in 1985. With the restoration of a credible government, and establishment of freer trade policies, the Philippines was again back on the map. Soon, carmakers were establishing new facilities in the region, and the Philippines attracted it share of investment.
In a land once called the Pearl of the Orient, where “Jeepneys” and “Calesas” were once the king of the road, Manila is now positioning to be an automotive force to reckon with. With production figures inching closely to pre-Asian crisis volumes, the automotive industry appears to be shifting to a higher gear.
The clamour for growth and the need for the automotive brands to be showcased in a forum for new model debuts became the impetus to stage the first ever Manila International Motor Show. For this very reason, motoring writers Jason K. Ang, Ulysses K. Ang, and Alvin Uy approached Joseph Ang, Chairman of Worldbex Services International and talked about the idea of holding an international grade and industry-based auto show. Joseph Ang, an events and tradeshow veteran, quickly grasped the idea and announced the holding of the first ever Manila Motor Show held April 2005 as a tribute to his late father, who was in the automotive dealership business before his passing.
In 2006, the MANILA INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW, was presented by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and legitimate establishments and partners in the automotive industry..
Read more about this topic: Manila International Auto Show
Famous quotes containing the words history of the, history of, history and/or show:
“... the history of the race, from infancy through its stages of barbarism, heathenism, civilization, and Christianity, is a process of suffering, as the lower principles of humanity are gradually subjected to the higher.”
—Catherine E. Beecher (1800–1878)
“In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side of the cut has anything to do with anything on the other side.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this.... It is not “history” which uses men as a means of achieving—as if it were an individual person—its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
“Every boy was supposed to come into the world equipped with a father whose prime function was to be our father and show us how to be men. He can escape us, but we can never escape him. Present or absent, dead or alive, real or imagined, our father is the main man in our masculinity.”
—Frank Pittman (20th century)