Moving stories of 2024

The year 2024 is poised to be another record year post-pandemic for the automotive industry. Sales are estimated to be around 460,000, surpassing last year's 441,000 vehicles sold.

- By VINCENT VILLA

But the year is not just about sales. New trends, new upcoming brands, and buzzer-beater alliances made headlines this year. Below are the hottest newsmakers that happened in 2024.

ARRIVAL OF 5-DOOR SUZUKI JIMNY
The year began on a high note as the much-adored Suzuki Jimny received additional doors. It's now available in a five-door version where the second row has ample room for adult occupants while having a sizable cargo area for the belongings of all passengers. Now, you can go glamping out of town not just with your partner or spouse, but with a few friends as well.

Trade Center and SMX Convention Center. They also had a free shuttle service so that fans could visit both venues with ease. Then in October, the Philippine International Motor Show that's held bi-annually was put on the global stage. Mitsubishi Motors Corp. chose PIMS 2024 as the platform for the global launch of the DST Concept Car, their next seven-seater SUV, citing how important the Philippines is to them. It is not the next-generation Montero Sport as some believed as the DST Concept has a unibody chassis for better ride comfort.

THE GLOBAL WINNERS ARRIVE
Filipinos are lucky that several award-winning cars are available in our market. The Kia EV9 was unveiled at PIMS 2024 which is the 2024 World Car of the Year. Hyundai's top-of-the-line performance electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5 N was also launched this year which garnered several key awards including World Performance Car of the Year, Gold from the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA), and iF Design Award.

Other iF Design Award winners are the Mitsubishi Triton pickup, Mitsubishi XForce crossover, and the Hyundai Santa Fe which also got bronze from IDEA. There's al

so the BYD Dolphin, which is the 2024 EV of the Year in Japan.