LOCAL production of a new version of the iconic Toyota Tamaraw has begun, with sales targeted to start in January.
Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) on Thursday staged a ceremonial rollout of the Next Generation Tamaraw, which will be the third model produced at the carmaker's Sta. Rosa, Laguna facility along with the Vios subcompact sedan and the Innova multi-purpose vehicle.
Production marks the return to the Philippine market by the Tamaraw, which was introduced in the '70s and sold up to the '80s and served as workhorse for many Filipino businesses.
With an introductory price of below P800,000, TMP officials said the model would be a game changer for their commercial vehicle sales.
"It's been a long dream for Toyota, and after three years, we made it happen today," TMP President Masando Hashimoto told reporters.
Hashimoto acknowledged the presence of competitors like Mitsubishi and Hyundai in the segment and said that Toyota was looking to again develop its image as a commercial vehicle maker.
"Passenger cars, no problem; we are very confident. But in the commercial vehicle, not as confident as others," he said.
TMP aims to produce 20,000 units of Tamaraw annually with a monthly sales target of 1,500 to 1,800 units. The Laguna facility, Hashimoto said, is capable of turning out 60,000 units annually.
TMP invested an initial P1.1 billion to upgrade the Laguna facility and has said that it would spend up to P5.5 billion.
While the base cost will be below P800,000, prices of the new Tamaraw will go up depending on the variant. The body styles that have been announced are dropside, utility van, and aluminum van variants with gasoline and diesel options.
Hashimoto said the return of Tamaraw signified TMP's commitment to regain its position in the commercial vehicle market and meet the evolving needs of Filipino consumers. The new Tamaraw marks a return to its original looks after a '90s relaunch as the FX Asian utility vehicle.
The TMP chief said they were open to export the Next Generation Tamaraw to other countries.
"Exporting would be a very good opportunity for us, so we want to study [that] more. First is for the domestic market here in the Philippines, but in the future, I want to expand our business abroad," he said.
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