Remember when President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. went to Japan last March and received confirmation from Toyota Motors of the Tamaraw nameplate’s return to the Philippines? Well, this could just be it.

During AutoFun Philippines' visit to Indonesia, we saw the Toyota Rangga Concept displayed in various guises at the 2023 GAIKINDO Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS. It offered a glimpse of Toyota’s upcoming commercial vehicle plans for the ASEAN region.

Initially showcased during the 60th anniversary of Toyota Motors Thailand in December 2022 as the Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle or IMV 0 concept, the all-new commercial vehicle is intended to be a platform that will fulfill a variety of applications depending on its owners' needs. You know, if a pickup is too expensive and flashy to serve as a workhorse.

The Rangga name was first used in Indonesia during the Revo generation, which succeeded the Kijang. So the Rangga Concept is the true ladder frame successor to the Kijang/ Tamawraw/ Innova line, as the Zenix has now adopted the TNGA-C unibody platform. 

From the outside, the Toyota Rangga Concept is a small bare chassis single-cab truck with an FJ Cruiser-looking front end. It has a three-part bumper, so owners need not replace the whole front end in case of a minor bender. 

Much like the Toyota Tamaraw of old, it has a body-on-frame structure and a leaf spring suspension layout at the back for maximum payload capacity. It was designed by Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing Company Limited with Japanese and Australian engineering inputs. 

Di lang pam-pamilya

At GIIAS 2023, three use-case possibilities for the Rangga Concept were displayed at the Toyota commercial vehicle booth. The Rangga Concept Mobile Café, Rangga Concept Ambulance, Rangga Concept EV Charger Mobile Service, and Rangga Concept Pace Car were on hand to be perused by curious showgoers.

We can imagine local cab manufacturers like Centro building various applications for a vehicle like this, such as an aluminum cargo van, a people-hauling jeepney, or even a personalized camper, much like what is being done to the Mitsubishi L300 and Kia K2500.

The platform is undoubtedly intended for such uses and more. Toyota says the backend can be “rebodied” in under an hour.

The Toyota Rangga Concept is reported to have a diesel powertrain in the works when it is unveiled in Thailand in 2024. And much like the Tamaraws of old, it will likely be a bare-bones Asian Utility Vehicle its owners won’t be afraid to thrash and get the most out of. 

Back to basics

But do we really need another truck that’s not a pickup? Toyota seems to think so, as it envisions the Rangga Concept to target a lower price bracket than base-model pickups. 

You can see from these examples that a certain amount of cost-cutting has been employed by Toyota, like basic utilitarian wipers reminiscent of 1980s AUVs. And if Toyota crunches its numbers right, it might even be a  viable alternative to lower-priced Chinese and second-hand trucks sold in the market. 

The Thai market will be the first to have this available in 2024, which makes sense as pickups are very much in demand in the country and are already fulfilling many commercial and entrepreneurial roles. 

Does the Toyota Rangga Concept fit what you think an all-new Tamaraw should be?