Back in August 2023, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) during its 35th anniversary celebration made a huge announcement: that the all-new Tamaraw would not only be sold in the Philippines but also be assembled here.
Shortly thereafter, the Toyota Hilux Champ made its official debut in Thailand, hinting that a Philippine launch could be imminent. Now, we have even more reasons to believe so, because the next-generation truck has just been seen on public roads. And it’s not just one unit—two Tamaraws in different configurations were spotted.
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These photos were taken by a reader who wishes to stay anonymous, and he claims these photos were taken somewhere along STAR Tollway in Batangas. It checks out, as we do recognize the locations from the images, and other vehicles in the photos can also be seen wearing Philippine license plates.
Now, we said we believe it could be arriving here soon, but if we’re being honest, this sighting could mean more than one thing for our market. See, new models are usually brought in via trailer trucks from TMP’s facility in Batangas. The new Tamaraw strolling on our expressways could mean TMP is still testing the vehicle on public roads. That, or they’ve run out of trucks to transport this, which is highly unlikely.
Not only that but since TMP plans to assemble the Tamaraw here, there must be some rework of sorts needed at its Santa Rosa plant to accommodate the assembly of this all-new model. Of course, TMP could just go ahead and build an entirely new facility altogether for the Tamaraw, which isn’t exactly impossible.
Anyway, all these are just speculations from our end. But rest assured, as soon as we receive more info from TMP regarding the all-new Tamaraw, we’ll keep you posted. For now, we’ll leave you with an actual photo of the Hilux Champ below along with a question: Should TMP retain the Tamaraw nameplate? We think it should. You guys can sound off in the comments.
