Cars
Honda Sticks With Manuals
Manual transmissions account for a shrinking share of new-car sales, but Honda is not ready to abandon the third pedal.
American Honda Vice President of Auto Sales Lance Woelfer acknowledged the decline during the IndyCar Freedom 250 in Washington, D.C. He said demand for manuals “continues to be a smaller and smaller portion of the market” and will probably fall further.
However, low demand will not immediately remove them from Honda showrooms.
“We see very little demand going in, but we’re going to have them in the line,” Woelfer said.
Honda and its luxury brand Acura currently offer four models with manual transmissions. The Honda Civic Si and Civic Type R come exclusively with six-speed gearboxes, while the Acura Integra A-Spec offers one as an option. The Integra Type S also pairs its turbocharged engine with a six-speed manual.
That gives Honda one of the broader manual lineups left in the industry. Many manufacturers now reserve stick shifts for a small number of performance cars, while others have removed them entirely.
Questions about Honda’s plans grew in July after the automaker announced a production pause for the 2027 Civic Si and Acura Integra A-Spec. Honda later confirmed that the Si would return with the next-generation Civic in 2028, although it did not guarantee that the model would retain its manual transmission.
Woelfer’s latest remarks suggest Honda still intends to keep manuals available. The Civic Si appears the strongest candidate to continue, given how closely the gearbox is tied to the model’s identity. The future of the manual-equipped Integra A-Spec is less certain because the automatic version accounts for most of its sales.
American Honda President and CEO Eiji Fujimura also stopped short of making a firm product commitment when asked about the company’s long-term plans.
“Sometimes I need to get back to Soichiro Honda on some things,” Fujimura said. “But we always think about the enthusiasts, and we always think about their dreams.”
Keeping manuals presents a difficult business case. Automatic transmissions are easier to sell, while modern dual-clutch gearboxes can shift faster than most drivers. Electric vehicles do not require conventional multi-speed transmissions at all.
Honda, however, has spent decades building its reputation among drivers through cars such as the S2000, NSX, Civic Si and Civic Type R. Their sales may be small beside the company’s mainstream models, but they help maintain its connection with enthusiasts.
Honda has not promised that every current manual model will survive. For now, though, the company is prepared to keep the clutch pedal even as fewer customers choose to use it.
Green GSM has launched Premium Taxi, a seven-seat electric taxi service aimed at families, groups, business travellers and passengers carrying several pieces of luggage.
The new service uses a fleet of VinFast Limo Green electric vehicles and becomes Green GSM’s second service tier in the Philippines after Green GSM Car. Each vehicle can accommodate up to six passengers aside from the driver.
Premium Taxi will initially operate in Makati, Taguig, Mandaluyong and Pasig. Its coverage includes major business districts, commercial centres, hotels and transport hubs within these cities.
Unlike the cyan vehicles used for Green GSM Car, the Limo Green units are finished in black to distinguish the premium fleet. Their three-row cabins feature automatic air conditioning, dedicated vents for both rear rows and an air-filtration system.
The electric powertrain also eliminates engine noise, exhaust emissions and fuel odour during trips.
Green GSM said Premium Taxi drivers were selected based on their service ratings and trained to meet the company’s customer-care standards. Fares are displayed through the vehicle meter and Green GSM mobile app, where passengers can also monitor trip details.
Customers may book through the app, hail an available Premium Taxi on the street or call the company’s hotline at 02-7777-8080.
“Premium Taxi is not simply about providing more space,” Green GSM Philippines CEO Le Thi Thu Trang said. “It is designed for journeys where comfort and attention to detail matter, from family trips and airport transfers to business engagements and special occasions.”
The company said its Philippine electric fleet had completed nearly five million trips and travelled more than 32.6 million kilometres as of 31 March 2026.
Green GSM estimated that these trips helped avoid about 6,263 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, an amount it said was equivalent to the carbon absorbed by nearly 289,000 trees in one year.
The Premium Taxi service adds a larger option to the operator’s all-electric fleet as it targets passengers who need more cabin and luggage space without moving to a conventional fuel-powered vehicle.
Alain Gabriel Alzona claimed two Super Sporting Class victories as the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup made its Batangas Racing Circuit debut during Race Weekend 3.
The Toyota Gensan/Davao Racing driver won Sprint Races 7 and 9. Red Diwa of Toyota Isabela denied him a sweep after taking Sprint Race 8 ahead of Joaquin Garrido and Alzona.
Alzona’s final victory came after a well-timed pass on Michael Bryan Co before the first turn. Co stayed close but could not regain the lead and finished second. Diwa completed the podium.
The Sporting Class produced a close fight between Bern Zaragoza and Joshua David Marquez. Zaragoza won Sprint Races 7 and 9 for Resultado Racing, while Marquez took Sprint Race 8 for Obengers Racing. Mike Santos earned two third-place finishes before Raymond Paul Base placed third in the final sprint.
Obengers Racing also secured two Tamaraw Class victories. Jesse Garcia led Iñigo Anton and Potenciano Andaman II in Sprint Race 7, while Anton won Sprint Race 8 ahead of Oliver Aquino and Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines driver Enzo Ison.
Raymond Cudala of R Racing-Toyota Dagupan captured the final Tamaraw race. Anton finished second, followed by Aquino.
Tamaraw Sprint Race 9 included several late incidents. Ison spun after contact with teammate Will Lucas, while Garcia and Russel Reyes were also removed from contention following separate collisions.
Paolo Ang completed a clean sweep of the Legacy Class for Madkart-R Racing. He won Sprint Races 5 and 6 ahead of Gabie Desales and Oliver Estrella.
The weekend marked the Philippine Cup’s first appearance at BRC in its 13-year history. It was also the second leg of Toyota Motor Philippines’ “rolling laboratory” for sustainable racing. The Vios one-make cars used an E20 bioethanol blend, while the Tamaraw race vehicles ran on B5 coco-biodiesel.
The fourth and final race weekend will be held from September 10 to 12 at Clark International Speedway.
Vingroup contributed VND 148.773 trillion to Vietnam’s state budget in 2025, the highest amount recorded from a private company in the country.
The figure rose 165 percent from more than VND 56.2 trillion in 2024, according to a ranking published by Vietnamese financial news platform CafeF. It also made Vingroup the first private-sector company in Vietnam to exceed VND 100 trillion in state budget contributions within a single year.
Its contribution averaged more than VND 407 billion per day throughout 2025.
The record came as the Vietnamese conglomerate posted sharp growth across its automotive, property and service businesses. Vingroup generated more than VND 332.808 trillion in revenue during the year, up 76 percent, while profit after tax increased 111 percent to more than VND 11.146 trillion.
Growth continued during the first six months of 2026. Consolidated net revenue climbed 72.5 percent to VND 222.3 trillion, while profit after tax rose 4.5 times to VND 20.375 trillion. The six-month profit accounted for 58 percent of its full-year target.
VinFast contributed to the expansion as it held the top position in Vietnam’s electric vehicle market. The automaker delivered 115,916 electric vehicles in its home market during the first half, a 72-percent increase from the same period last year.
Global deliveries reached 128,662 vehicles, up 78 percent. VinFast also sold nearly 429,175 electric motorcycles, or 3.7 times the volume recorded a year earlier.
The company had 474 showrooms worldwide by the end of the period, with most located in key Asian markets.
Vingroup’s property arm Vinhomes recorded VND 134.2 trillion in equivalent revenue during the first half, three times the previous year’s figure. The group is also developing businesses in infrastructure and green energy.
Its Thien Tam Fund has allocated VND 35 trillion to healthcare, education, livelihood, disaster relief and other social programs. Another VND 11 trillion was recently committed to projects supporting people who have contributed to Vietnam.
