Coyiuto urges more support for EVs

Robert Coyiuto Jr. or RCJ,  founder and principal of PGA Cars, is adding his voice to the increasing clamor from both  local car manufacturers and importers for the government to extend more support to the budding electric vehicle (EV) market.

At the press preview last week of Audi’s Q8 e-tron lineup, RCJ stressed the need for government to support the entry of more electric vehicles to the Philippine market by lowering tariffs or granting more incentives to local EV makers to grow the market.

According to RCJ, EVs are the future and would also address the country’s pollution and fuel resource concerns.

Premium car dealers such as PGA are leading the way for the adoption of EVs and are working hand in hand with mall developers, such as SM and Ayala Malls, to provide charging stations for EVs.

Audi Philippines last Friday presented to media its new 100-percent electric Audi Q8 e-tron that forms part of Audi’s largest model offensive. Highlights include an optimized  drive concept, improved aerodynamics, and higher charging performance and battery capacity that increases driving range up to 491 kilometers when fully charged.

Christopher Chan, managing director of Audi Philippines, also pointed out that the Audi Q8 e-tron vehicles now include portable chargers which can be used to charge the vehicles at home using the ordinary three-prong plug.

Even so, Audi has tied up with mall developers SM and Ayala to provide access to charging stations, giving the Audi Q8 e-tron users access to at least 70 charging points nationwide from Baguio through SM malls in northern Luzon, to Negros and Cebu, and up to Mindanao through Prudential Insurance offices.

The new Q8 e-tron SUV, Chan boasted, can also be safely driven in the country’s notorious flooded streets.

The Audi e-tron model, Chan said, has actually sold 200 units already and the latest Q8 model will likely attract more buyers.

75 years of Phl-Italy bilateral relations

On July 9, 1947, the Philippines and Italy formally established diplomatic relations.

Just this Monday, Aug. 7, the Italian Embassy, led by its hardworking Ambassador Marco Clemente, marked the momentous 75th year of harmonious bilateral relations between the two countries during a gala dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, where the ambassador officially commemorated the event with the launching of its coffee table book  titled, “Philippines-Italy Rising Together.”

The establishment of formal bilateral ties, according to Ambassador Clemente’s introductory message in the book, is meant to be “celebrated in a memorable way.” As such, he pointed out: “Memory is also made of concrete objects that can be passed down for the enjoyment of of those who will continue the tradition of Italian-Filipino friendship and solidarity.”

With that in mind, Ambassador Clemente wrote that he decided to “leave a lasting testimony” through the celebratory book that he hopes will help readers appreciate “the depth and quality of these bilateral relations.”

Celebrations last year of the 75th anniversary  culminated with the December performance  of Puccini’s opera “Turandot” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, which was also significant in marking the first live exhibition after the almost three-year pandemic lockdown.

The presentation of the Turandot opera, Ambassador Clemente said, provided a good opportunity for the Italian Embassy to engage Filipino youth in the appreciation of Italian opera and the reception was exceptional as the values and sentiments proved to be universal in spite of the language barrier.

Ambassador Clemente, who has a deep passion for Italian culture, art and classical music, has also been tirelessly working these past few years to introduce the Filipino youth to Italian opera. Just last May, the Italian Embassy  hosted a philharmonic concert of Giuseppe Verde’s less well-known orchestral compositions at the Ateneo’s Hyundai’s Arete Hall for the appreciation of the diplomatic community, the Ateneo faculty and students, as well as media practitioners.

Ambassador Clemente is hoping to raise enough support to perhaps hold another opera presentation before he retires and returns to Italy.