Since 2007, almost 300,000 units of the country’s best-selling passenger car have been made locally
ALMOST any Filipino urban dweller will recognize the iconic Toyota Vios. That’s how popular this subcompact car is, and how important it has become in our country. Important enough, it turns out, to give us the privilege of being the first country to unveil its latest rendition.
Yes, the 2020 version of this 17-year local best-seller was first launched here in the Philippines before anywhere else — via a virtual event that was Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP’s) second-ever online car launch held in the country (the first was for the Wigo).
“Known for reliability, durability, efficiency and affordability since 2003, the Vios has evolved to fit the Filipinos’ ever-changing needs and has since been the country’s best-selling sedan,” remarked TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto during the online press reveal. “You can count on TMP to stay true to our promise of making the world’s best Vios, and in the process, helping the economy, and providing livelihood to thousands of Filipino families,” he added.
The biggest changes that appear in the 2020 Toyota Vios are aesthetic: A generally more aggressive look, thanks to its wider bumper, glossy-black front grille, and low and wide stance; three-tier LED headlamps and daytime running lights (for G variants); LED foglamps (for G, E and XLE variants); and 16-inch alloy wheels (for G variants).
As before, all variants come with SRS air bags. In fact, among the third-generation Vios’ strongest new assets are its class-leading safety features, which highlight seven SRS air bags — strategically positioned for the driver, passenger, front side, curtain and driver knee — across certain variants (while other customers may opt for variants with three SRS air bags). The Vios also includes some typically higher-class features, such as Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Hill-Start Assist Control, which were previously not offered in the older-generation models.
Inside the cabin is a classy-looking dashboard that is dominantly black, and adding to the car’s more premium feel is its Push Start ignition and Smart Entry System, which make entering and starting the car a breeze. Optitron meter gauges in the driver’s instrument panel give subtle, classy cues; and automatic air-conditioning controls come packaged as part of the extra bells and whistles attached to the top-of-the-line variant.
The Vios also offers the pleasure of paddle shifters, as well as Eco and Sport driving modes, activated via push-button.
The Vios was first introduced in the Philippine market way back in 2003; and during its first few years cars came in as CBUs (completely built units) imported from Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Thailand. In 2007, TMP made the brilliant call to begin manufacturing the second-generation Vios locally in its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant. Today, per Toyota’s global sales data, the Philippines has become the number-one-volume market of the Vios in all of Southeast Asia. From 2007 to June 2020, 296,994 units of the nameplate have been produced locally. Just think about that!
A well-loved, tried-and-tested nameplate, the Vios sold close to 320,000 units in the Philippines across three generations of the model. And in 2019, the Vios — the country’s best-selling passenger vehicle — ended the year with a whopping 38.6% market share.
Moreover, the Vios is tried and tested not only on regular roads but also on the racetrack, via the long-running Vios one-make-race series, the Vios Cup, now known as the Vios Racing Festival, scheduled to return in 2021.
“Under the CARS program of the government, the Vios is our flagship. It helps support almost 55,000 lives throughout the Toyota network, 71 dealers, 56 local suppliers, and countless other business and trade partners,” shared TMP Chairman Alfred Ty in a statement.
And although this current pandemic we are facing has resulted in a significant decline in every car business’ yearly market projection, TMP expressed optimism because it had already seen signs of a very good pickup in sales beginning this end of July. In fact, they expressed that the sales pickup had been better than they expected.
The 2020 Toyota Vios is available in 12 variants — all covered by TMP’s nationwide One-Price Policy. Among the latest sales offers for the Vios are: free periodic maintenance package for up to 20,000 kms, a five-year warranty, and free one-year comprehensive insurance. The Vios will be available through Toyota’s recently introduced car-leasing program called Kinto One.
