ONCE UPON a time, the Tamaraw was ubiquitous in the wild. By Tamaraw I mean the Toyota Tamaraw, and by wild I mean Philippine roads.
Named after the Mindoro dwarf buffalo endemic to the region, the utility vehicle had long been a source of pride (and business) for the Japan-headquartered brand’s operations here. The model, shared Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) Chairman Alfred V. Ty, debuted in December 1976 — appearing in a high-side pickup form (with roof) and motivated by a 1.2-liter 3K engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission. The second generation rolled out the following decade, then came the updated high-side pickup in 1991, and the third-generation Tamaraw FX Wagon in 1993.
For more than 20 years, the Tamaraw fell silent, largely to give way to the Innova MPV’s local production, and was pushed to the background as utility models from other brands took up the cudgels in the segment.
Last Friday, TMP officially broke the Tamaraw’s silence as it publicly unveiled the latest (and all-new) iteration — seen to build on the legacy of the workhorse while opening a new chapter of possibilities, promises, and expectations.
Prior to the launch, Toyota had underscored the importance of the model — and, truly, the people who will ultimately be responsible for its manufacture — by celebrating the Tamaraw’s roll-off at TMP’s sprawling 78-hectare, Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA)-accredited Santa Rosa, Laguna facility. Primarily organized for TMP employees, the event was also attended by “key stakeholders” from the Toyota network, government, industry, and select members of the media.
Now based on Toyota’s new International Multi-Purpose Vehicle platform designed for the Asian market, the Tamaraw’s return is even more significant because it will be manufactured in Santa Rosa. Addressing attendees of the roll-off ceremony, Mr. Ty described the Tamaraw as a “super work vehicle” and “wonder vehicle.” He continued, “Just one year ago, we were honored by no other than President Marcos and Chairman Akio Toyoda to witness our CKD (completely knocked down) assembly lines, and today, we have all of you right here in Santa Rosa.”
Present for the occasion was Toyota Asia Region Deputy Chief Executive Officer Hao Quoc Tien who confirmed, according to TMP, that the conversion factory is a “capability breakthrough, being first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region.”
TMP’s Laguna factory boasts a “capacity exceeding 54,800 units annually,” with a 60,000-vehicle maximum volume, and the Tamaraw now joins two other CKD models (the Vios and Innova) produced on the premises.
After the unveiling, the company invited guests for a brief tour of its new 1.5-hectare, P1.1-billion TMP Conversion Factory — which ups the total commitment to the IMV 0 project to a cool P5.5 billion, spent on “earlier investments in vehicle production, in-house and outsourced parts localizations.” The factory rolls out the Tamaraw in three body styles — dropside, utility van, and aluminum van forms — available with gas or diesel powertrains, and TMP contracted an additional team of workers to man the new production line. A sub-model — dubbed the Hilux Tamaraw — conscripts the platform of the Hilux pickup. Electrification for the Tamaraw may be in the cards in the future, subject to demand by customers.
Exporting Philippine-made Tamaraws is another prospect, and TMP President Masando Hashimoto said this needs to be studied more. “In the future, I want to expand our business abroad. Today, we are importing parts from Thailand, but if we want exportation to be possible, we need more localization. We need to invest more in our facility or those of our suppliers.”
Presently, 25% of Tamaraw parts are locally sourced. The engine comes from Toyota’s Thailand factory, while the transmission is made here. “We still rely heavily on parts imported from Thailand like the glass, battery,” continued the executive.
Replying to a question from “Velocity,” Mr. Hashimoto revealed that TMP has already completed the production of 200,000 Vios units — a requirement under the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, inked in 2015 via Executive Order No. 182. The program extended incentives to as many as three participating car manufacturers in return for producing at least 200,000 units of a mass-market model. TMP enrolled the Vios, while Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) entered the hatchback and sedan versions of the Mirage. An enrolled model gets P9 billion in fiscal support.
“We are quite happy with the achievement, and once again we want to show our appreciation to the government. This initiative helps manufacturers like us and Mitsubishi a lot,” declared Mr. Hashimoto. “Unfortunately, we faced some difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic, so if (the government) could consider some compensation or how to offset that difficult time when we didn’t make good production (like) if they consider an extension, that would be very helpful to us and Mitsubishi.” To date, not all the incentives promised to TMP through CARS have been received.
However, the company is keen on working anew with the government on a similar arrangement. Said TMP First Vice-President for Corporate Affairs Josephine Villanueva, “With the P5.5 billion that we’ve already put in, we (should be qualified) for another CARS-like program.”
Known as an Asian utility vehicle when it first arrived on the scene, the next-generation Tamaraw is now markedly more flexible. Through its many iterations, the vehicle is envisioned to provide “an inclusive mobility solution for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across various industries nationwide,” said TMP.
Mr. Hashimoto explained, “This commercial vehicle area is very new to Toyota. After 2004, we stopped the commercial vehicle line (of the Tamaraw). This market is (now) dominated by Mitsubishi and Hyundai and we are quite behind. We are now the challenger… It’s a new model, but for all employees of TMP, it represents a new program for us to train ourselves — for production and marketing — because everything is new. This (should be) a good experience for all Toyota employees.”
Production rollout, per the executive, should total “around 20,000” units a year, with a monthly output of 1,500 to 1,800 — the latter figures also reflecting the expected sales volume across TMP’s nationwide dealership network.
He reiterated, “We need to develop again the image of Toyota in this specific category. In passenger cars, we have no problem, we are very confident. But this (utility vehicle space) is really a big challenge.”
Mr. Hashimoto said he expects the “utility vehicle” guise of the Tamaraw, among its many iterations, to gain the most traction in the market. This used to be called the FX, and it was renamed, he insisted, to “avoid confusion.” The confidence in the variant is predicated on its versatility. “It is our focus model.”
In response to this writer’s question on what the Tamaraw’s arrival means for the brand’s equally versatile Lite Ace utility series, he maintained, “We want to maximize our model lineup. The Lite Ace is one of those — covering a (market) area through its 1.5-liter gasoline engine. And we still have the Tamaraw, and we have Hi Ace Commuter. These several models will be mixed in this category.”
The all-new Tamaraw is powered by either a 2.4-liter diesel (150ps, 400Nm or 300Nm) or 2.0-liter gas (139ps, 183Nm) mill mated to a six-speed automatic transmission (in the case of the 2GD-FTV [High]) or five-speed manual.
At the launch, TMP revealed the pricing of the nameplate’s variants that will be made initially available: Tamaraw 2.4 GL Dropside A/T (P1.075 million), Tamaraw 2.4 Utility Van (previously the FX) M/T (P1.142 million), Tamaraw 2.4 Aluminum Cargo M/T (P1.041 million), and Tamaraw 2.4 Dropside M/T (P937,000).
The other iterations of the Tamaraw — namely the short-wheelbase versions — will be available by March next year. According to materials already being distributed by Toyota dealers, the Tamaraw 2.0 Utility Van will be priced at P1 million, the Tamaraw 2.0 Aluminum Cargo M/T will cost P804,000, and the Tamaraw 2.0 Dropside M/T will come with a P750,000 sticker.