The Philippine market had a fair share of car brands that had come by and left us. Some brands had left for a variety of reasons such as poor sales or some controversies surrounding them. In this article (and for our All Saints/Souls day special), let's make a throwback on those brands that had ceased operations and leaving current owners left in the dust. We shall only list down brands that were made available since the 1990s, so American and European brands which existed before aren't counted here. Also, we will not be including brands that had left before but returned later on as it would warrant a separate list.
So, in memory for these brands that had left our 7,600 island nation and leaving current owners with no support.
ALFA ROMEO (1996-2000)
All Italian car brands that are currently available in the Philippine Islands are mostly selling high end exotic vehicles. However, back in the mid-90s Alfa Romeo arrived to battle with BMW but with an Italian flair. The distributor, Auto Prominence, did some mishaps and couple this with the Financial Crisis that crippled the region, it had no choice but to pull out later on. This distributor managed four brands with Audi going to PGA Cars in 2005 and Volkswagen pulling out in 2007 but to return six years later through the Ayala Group.
CHANA (2008-2012)
Chinese brands arrived during the late 2000s providing consumers options for cheaper vehicles. Focus Ventures Inc, which is known for high end household items, distributed Chana multicabs and the Benni hatchback back in 2008. Compared to its main competitor (which is included in this list), it didn't fare well and despite news of Motor Image Group planning to distribute this brand, it went out of the dodo. Currently, Focus Ventures is selling King Long vans which did better while Racal (the motorcycle brand) carries a Chana badged van.
The second brand to jump in the China brand invasion of the late 2000s (the first one is Foton, who had successfully penetrated the market), Chery was known for what would be the cheapest car in the market: the QQ which can be had in the region of P300,000. Sure, this hatchback became a hit but various quality issues hounded the vehicle and dealerships closing one by one. Two different distributors came to the scene in 2009 and 2013 but their efforts weren't well received despite the growth of the industry.
Norkis of Cebu, who is known for motorcycles, had ventured into assembling Daewoo sedans. While somewhat a success, the financial crisis of the 90s had crippled future dreams and had ditched the Korean brand and shifting to distributing Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles in the early 2000s. To date, Norkis still sells motorcycles of various brands.
Columbian Autocar Corporation was a big powerhouse during the 1990s, distributing a bevy of brands including the likes of Kia, BMW, Subaru, Mazda, Land Rover, and Nissan Diesel. One of them is Daihatsu of Japan, which is known for their Charade hatchback and Feroza mini-SUV. No thanks to the financial crisis that affected every single manufacturer, Daihatsu was pulled out of the market. As of now, Columbian is still carrying Kia and BMW while adding Peugeot and Mahindra to the mix and the Daihatsu spirit lives on the Toyota Avanza and Wigo, both original products of the italicized D brand.
Italcar Pilipinas, a venture by Francisco Motors Inc (known for assembling passenger jeeps), used to assemble Uno hatchbacks back in the early 90s as an effort for the Peoples Car Development Program but didn't succeed like Kia's Pride. Just like other brands, it didn't stand the financial crisis which caused the brand to be pulled out. Francisco Motors also assembled Mazda pickups and vans and Hyundai vehicles back then.
Our third Chinese brand in this list, Geely came to the picture by selling the CK sedan in their dealer in Subic (and a giveaway prize in Kris Aquino's Wheel of Fortune). After sometime, they've shifted to the LC hatchback and some high end sedans but with the price drop of the former and dismal sales, they call it quits in 2016.
INFINITI (1997-2001)
What you don't know is that Universal Motors Corporation (who used to bring in Nissan trucks and vans, is now a BAIC distributor) used to sell the Infiniti Q45. It is sold in a price where the likes of the Germans reside but nevertheless, they had tried but we think that the market isn't ready for such type of car since the Europeans first come to mind. Lexus had to wait until 2009 to break in the Philippine market with success.
LINCOLN (1998-2002)
Ford Group Philippines returned in 1998 with four vehicles being offered, all of them are high end ones that includes the following: Expedition SUV, F-150 pick-up, E-150 van, and the Lincoln Town Car, the latter being popular among limousine operators. No separate Lincoln dealers were put up, rather these can be ordered through your nearest Ford dealership. They've dropped this one in the line-up with a focus towards the Asian market models.
When General Motors Philippines set-up shop back in the late 90s, they've brought back Opel for the second time (this used to be available back in the 70s and 80s) since Chevrolet isn't offering any passenger vehicles, it was deemed especially they will complement one another with dealerships being situated beside one another. Similar to a strategy done by Ford, the German brand was discontinued to focus on Chevrolets destined for the ASEAN market.
The only Malaysian car brand to be sold here, the Proton Wira is essentially a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer with some differences. While assembled here, the arrival of a modern version of the Lancer for 1997 as well as the financial crisis had this one pull out of the Philippine market.
RENAULT (mid-late 90s)
If you think that Peugeot was the only French car brand to be made available here, then you're wrong. Renault also existed in the Philippines through an independent dealer located in Makati. Their line-up included the likes of the Laguna, Megane, Twingo, and Spyder. We had no idea how they've disappeared from the radar back then.
SMART (2004-2006)
Sometime in 2004, CATS Motors (Mercedes Benz, Chrysler) brought in the diminutive Smart Fortwo and Roadster. Smart vehicles are a brainchild of Swatch, the watch brand and they wanted to build a car which can be personalized, similar to their wristwatches. Due to their high price no thanks to their imported status, these were quietly removed from the market years later.