Toyota Is Reviving the Tamaraw FX, And It Will Be Produced in the Philippines

Filipinos could soon see a new breed of the iconic Tamaraw FX vehicles on the roads. 

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., a subsidiary of Japan’s Toyota, announced it will revive the Tamaraw “in the near future.” In a press conference on February 12 held in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Philippines president Atsuhiro Okamoto told reporters the company is investing P4.4 billion for the production the popular vehicle. 

“We were committed to investing the P4.4 billion for light commercial vehicle or LCV, that’s called in Toyota IMV (Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle)-zero project, like do you know the Tamaraw in the past? It’s the new generation Tamaraw project. We will enter this in the IMV-zero in the near future. Of course local production, manufacturing… in Santa Rosa, [Laguna},” Okamoto said, as reported by GMA News. 

From the 1990s to the mid-2000s, the Toyota Tamaraw FX was widely adopted in the Philippines as a popular mode of public transportation that could seat 10 passengers. It was phased out in the late 1990s and rebranded as the Toyota Revo, which is also phased out now. 

According to Okamoto, production of the new Tamaraw will not start in 2023 but should be expected “very soon.” Toyota has been considering reviving the Tamaraw LCV in the Philippine market since 2020. 

“We want to contribute to the Philippine society, industry, especially MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises). But current Hilux, the price position is a little bit higher. So we need to introduce more affordable commercial vehicles for MSMEs, especially micro and small enterprises,” Okamoto said.