At the annual Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) thanksgiving lunch, TMP chairman Alfred V. Ty gave a report on the state of the country’s largest car brand. After breaching the 200,000 sales mark last year, TMP is poised to surpass that figure and is expected to sell between 215,000 to 218,000 vehicles.
Those sales figures are courtesy of a deep bench of models, expected bestsellers like the Vios, Innova, and Hiace. But Ty also noted the large increase in electrified unit sales; these are the Yaris Cross and Corolla Cross hybrid vehicles. Sales of these coding-exempt models reached 18,000 units this 2024, a year-on-year increase of 100%.
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Of course, Ty’s speech mentioned one of the most important products in recent memory: the all-new Toyota Tamaraw. The comeback of this Filipino icon was more than a year in the making. From the early preview, to the surprise encounter, to the ceremonial roll-off, and eventually the grand launch in eight venues, TMP wasted no time and effort in highlighting how important the Tamaraw is to its future plans, and its expected impact on Filipino mobility.
The Tamaraw production capacity at TMP’s Santa Rosa plant is 1,500 to 1,800 units per month. This is also the expected sales volume. If we average those two numbers and multiply them by 12, the Tamaraw will sell about 20,000 units next year. Assuming minimal cannibalization with TMP’s other models, this is a new category that will add significantly to the Japanese carmaker’s 2025 sales figures.
Naturally, if Toyota does well, the automotive industry does well. Ty said Philippine car sales are projected to hit 470,000 units this year, possibly its highest ever. This reflects the growing spending power of the market.
It’s an exciting time for the Philippine automotive industry. There are so many new players coming, and maybe more to come next year. For the country’s number one automotive brand, it’s business as usual. But thanks to its astute product planning and nurtured brand values, business is very good.
