Toyota Motor Philippines has revealed some big plans in store for the future over the weekend, announcing their plans to revive the Tamaraw FX as well as a P4.4 billion investment into producing Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) in the country.
In an interview, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation president Okamoto Atsuhiro said that the company signed a letter of intent with the Philippine government last Friday, Feb 10, to invest for LCV production in the Philippines. This investment plan involves the production of LCV’s in the country, specifically in Santa Rosa Laguna. This also marks the return of the Toyota Tamaraw FX, a blue-collar hero from 90’s famed for its reliability and endless applications.
The next generation Tamaraw FX will most likely take the design of Toyota’s IMV-0 (Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle) concept which was recently unveiled in Thailand last year. Atsuhiro added that the new Toyota Tamaraw will still have a diesel engine, albeit a much cleaner one.
Although the return of the Tamaraw FX is nearly a sure thing, we don’t advise you to get your hopes up just yet as Toyota says the new Tamaraw FX will not come this year. Okamoto explains that this is due to Toyota still exploring options for modifying its power delivery, saying that a battery electric vehicle (BEV) version is on the table at Toyota.
“BEV is one of the methodologies for carbon neutrality. Our enemy is carbon, yes, not ICE (internal combustion engines), so we will prepare all the variants for carbon neutrality, not only the EV but also hybrid, probably hybrid, even hydrogen, we will prepare.”
According to Okamoto, Toyota Philippines wants to contribute to Filipino society and industry, specifically, the company wishes to provide affordable vehicles for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s). He also added that the new LCVs will be slotted below the price point of the Toyota HiLux pickup truck when it goes on sale.
The Philippines can never have enough of affordable light commercial vehicles, but, will the Tamaraw FX make the grade and live up to its iconic name?
