Tamaraw nameplate to make PH comeback?

The Presidential Communications Office has just posted an update on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s working visit to Japan. 

According to a post on its Facebook page, the PCO claims that PBBM is pleased with Toyota Motors Corporation's plan to bring back the Tamaraw to the Philippine market. 

"Ikinalugod ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ang plano ng Toyota Motors Corporation na muling ibalik ang Tamaraw model sa merkado ng bansa. Ibinahagi din ng Pangulo na ang Tamaraw ay isa sa pinakakilalang modelo ng sasakyan sa Pilipinas.

Nagpahayag naman ng suporta ang Toyota sa mga plano ng administrasyon sa pagpapaluwag ng pagnenegosyo para sa mga kumpanyang nais magnegosyo sa bansa."

(Translation: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is pleased with the plan of Toyota Motors Corporation to bring back the Tamaraw model to the Philippine market. The President shared that the Tamaraw is one of the most famous vehicle models in the Philippines.

Toyota expressed its support for the plans of the current administration to ease the process of doing business for companies interested to invest in the country.)

Also in the photos uploaded by the PCO are Toyota's outgoing President and CEO Akio Toyoda.

The current Toyota Innova multi-purpose vehicle being assembled in the Philippines is the successor to the Tamaraw line of Asian Utility Vehicles which were sold in the country from the 1970s up to the 1990s. 

Toyota has already launched an all-new generation model of the MPV in Indonesia called the Kijang Innova Zenix back in November 2022.

Toyota Motor Philippines is set to introduce this model soon as the "Innova Zenix" name has already been trademarked last August at the Philippine Intellectual Properties Office, a common practice to prevent other companies from using the same name in their products. 

Where will the "Tamaraw" brand slot in? 

As we previously reported, the all-new Toyota Innova will be based on a brand new, front-wheel drive unibody platform.  This is a complete departure from the current Innova's rear-wheel drive body-on-frame architecture which gave the MPV its rugged reliability reputation over the years. 

The all-new Innova is being built at Toyota's PT Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia's (TMMIN) Karawan, Indonesia manufacturing facility and will be exported to other countries, including presumably, the Philippines. 

On the other hand, the Tamaraw was a body-on-frame structure similar to today's locally-made Innovas. This is one of the reasons the Tamaraw earned its legendary status as the de facto people and cargo hauler of its era. 

One way Toyota Motor Philippines might manage this plan to bring back the Tamaraw nameplate is to continue the local production of the current-generation Innova.

The IMV platform-based Innova is still a popular model in TMP's local lineup. It actually sold 17,810 units in 2022. Local market demand might dictate a low-cost, bare-bones spec, diesel-fed, rear-wheel drive, ladder-frame MPV. And the current Innova certainly fits the bill. And surely, close-in security escorts will be better served by this current model rather than the swanky, front-wheel luxury hybrid MPV that the all-new Toyota Innova Zenix intends to be.

Moreover, the continued production of the current Innova may also mean the retention of jobs at Toyota Motor Philippines' Santa Rosa manufacturing plant which should be good for our economy.

What do you think, should Toyota Motor Philippines continue the production run of the current-generation Innova?