07/06/2026
Closing Hancars
On September 15, 2025, Hancars officially closed its doors, after 26 years in the car business which I love with a passion. We informed all our friends and clients (most of whom had become our friends) by email, and endorsed them to our partner service center for continued support and service. We sadly said goodbye to our staff who had provided years of dedicated service to our clients, and went home where I pondered about the future, and reminisced about the past. I closed everything, but I couldn't close this page with more than 32,000 followers, that has always been my connection to my customers.
History
50 years ago, I started working as a car salesman for a GM dealership on EDSA called Citiwide Motors. I was just 19 and was asked by my father to work for my education, being the eldest with 5 more siblings was difficult for my parents with unstable income. My love for cars was a factor in choosing the car salesman job, and it was an adventure I truly enjoyed. In 1999, at age 43, I rented a 3-car garage on Scout Santiago st. and started Hancars, with my wife as my only staff, and I worked as the salesman, driver, and carwash boy. Soon, Hancars moved to Quezon Avenue where we started introducing some innovations to the Hyundai Starex.
Hancars Firsts and Innovations
• In 2001, Hancars was the first in the local car industry to introduce the in-car DVD and ceiling monitor entertainment system.
• In 2002, we started importing Classic Beetle from Mexico. We also built a VW Dune Buggy from scratch, took 9 months and won so many car shows.
• In 2009, Hancars was the first in the local car industry to introduce the Rearview Camera system in a 2009 Grand Starex. In the same year, all our Grand Starex had Garmin Navigation imported from Garmin USA.
• In 2012, when the Euro 5 Grand Starex had ECU software error that shuts down the AC, Hancars was able to bypass the ECU to make the Grand Starex AC function efficiently (while it took Hyundai Motors another year to figure out this error). In the same year, all our Grand Starex were able to display google functions.
• In 2015, all our Grand Starex were able to play Spotify by voice command.
• In 2017, all our Grand Starex were able to talk to the driver and receive instructions verbally for Waze navigation.
• In 2018, we started putting Alexa Auto in every car which made digital commands possible, like asking about the weather, and answering questions, and turning on the AC at home before you arrive. In the same year, we introduced the Grand Starex VIP with Zero Gravity VIP seats and Auto Sliding doors.
• In 2019 we started putting digital rear view mirrors in all our Grand Starex.
• In 2020, Hancars was the first to launch the Hyundai Staria in the Philippines.
Going into EV
In 2022, Hancars went into the EV business and imported the first VW ID4 and ID6 in the country. Hancars had the distinction of being the 3rd entity to introduce EV in the Philippines. We eventually imported and sold Smart Brabus EV, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Toyota BZ4X, Xpeng G9, Xpeng X9, Kia EV9, Kia EV5.
Reason for Closing
By 2024, around 30 Chinese EV makers and their local partners had officially entered the local market and went into a price war, making it difficult for Hancars to compete. In September 15, 2025, after 2 years of losses, Hancars officially closed its doors.
The Future for me
Recently, I was rebuked by a follower who asked why I still post on my page when Hancars is already closed. He suggested that I should also close and shut down my Hancars page, because of this rebuke, I deleted all my posts since September 15, 2025, except for one service support post.
Perhaps for a guy like me who had worked for 50 years, it is time to retire and wait for the inevitable.. But with sound mind and body, time grinds so slowly for me waiting for that to happen. So I keep my page with 32K followers, most of whom probably still believes in Hancars.
I am Webin Manzana, formerly of Hancars, Inc., not signing off yet…
