IN 2017 Toyota Motor sold more Vios subcompacts in the Philippines than in any other Southeast Asian market. Deliveries of the model during the period reached 36,733 examples in the country, topping those in Thailand by 23,026 units (Vios’s sales were disrupted there and resumed only in the last five months of the year) and 13,233 units more than those in Malaysia — two economies where the Vios is as popular. Globally, only China — the world’s biggest vehicle market — bested the Philippines’ result with 92,242 units sold last year.
Against this backdrop the new, fourth-generation (counting a heavily revised version considered as the second in the lineage) Vios arrives locally, with Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) having unveiled the model to journalists and Toyota dealers on July 20, ahead of the public introduction of the car set on July 28. Now while the Vios lost the country’s best-selling vehicle crown last year — due to “unusually high” sales of SUVs for the period as consumers beat the expected price increase for the segment under a new taxation scheme, according to Jose Maria M. Atienza, senior vice-president for marketing at TMP — Toyota expects the model to retain the honors by the end of 2018.
Incidentally, the Vios was the best-selling passenger car in 2017. It was beaten as overall best-selling vehicle by Toyota’s own Fortuner.
LOCALLY BUILT
The Philippines is among the countries which produce the Vios, the others being Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. TMP continues to build the new model at its plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna. According to Rommel R. Gutierrez, TMP first vice-president for corporate affairs, the move adheres to the company’s “commitment to the government’s CARS program,” in which the Vios is enrolled.
Under CARS, or the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy, a manufacturer must produce 200,000 units of an enrolled vehicle (only three slots were made available by government, with the Vios taking one and the Mitsubishi Mirage/G4 the other) over six years in order to qualify for incentives, among which is a maximum $1,000-per-unit fiscal support. Forming a part of TMP’s participation in the program is the production of various body shell parts and large plastic components for the Vios. Satoru Suzuki, president of TMP, noted 40% of the new Vios’s parts are locally sourced.
Without disclosing distribution percentage, TMP documents showed that as of July 2017 there were already 34 local companies which directly supply TMP parts for the Vios.
As of May, TMP and its suppliers have already declared to the BoI a P5.53-billion investment on CARS, of which P4.9 billion is allocated for parts manufacturing and the rest for vehicle production. TMP noted its investment, including that earmarked for producing select components like bumpers and instrument panels, amount to P5.24 billion. Suppliers’ investment totals P276 million.
TMP projected it would sell 3,500 Vios cars per month, which Mr. Satoru said is enough to “satisfy CARS’s requirement” of 200,000 units sold over six years, or an average of around 33,000 cars annually.
BANKING ON THE VIOS
TMP sales dropped 14.7% in the first half of 2018 compared to the same six-month stretch last year, or a 73,136-unit total so far for this year against last year’s 85,728-unit tally. The performance reflects the entire domestic auto sector’s slump; the two industry groups — Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines, Inc. and Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors — have reported 12.5% and 11% less deliveries, respectively, for the period. The slowdown, according to both groups, was caused partly by consumers having advanced their purchases last year as they anticipated price increases in certain vehicle segments, as well as by rising inflation, petroleum prices and interest rates.
“The lower sales volume was expected,” said Mr. Atienza, concerning TMP’s performance. “But we are also hoping sales would pick up in the second half as forecasted. The Vios will be one of the drivers [of the growth].”
TMP introduced the new Vios in nine choices — six variants with three trim levels, called Prime, added to the variants — the prices of which are set between P659,000 for the 1.3 Base MT and P1.110 million for the 1.5 G Prime CVT in pearl white paint. Comparable variants of the previous Vios were priced between P17,000 and P87,000 less.
Distinguishing the Prime trim level, available on the top-spec 1.5 G CVT and the mid-spec 1.3 E CVT and I.3 E MT, are aerodynamic appendages and a bezel around the fog lamp cavity.
Exterior pieces new to the G variants are a fin antenna (the E also gets this feature), 16-inch wheels, LED tail lights and daytime running lamps. In the cabin, major upgrades to the higher-spec variants include automatic air-conditioning, Optitron meters, speed-sensing door locks, paddle and sequential shifters, Eco and Sport driving modes, and smart entry with push-button ignition. All variants now have a brace of air bags — side, driver’s knee and curtain shield. Stability control and ABS have also been fitted to the low-end variants.
Carried over to the new Vios are the 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter engines, as well as the manual and continuously variable transmissions, found in the discontinued model. The chief engineer of the Vios, Takamoto Suzuki, said Toyota retained the power plants and gearboxes because these are the “most suitable for the market, and [are] globally accepted for [their] performance and fuel economy.”
TMP said the new Vios, like the previous model, caters to people who appreciate “fun in driving.” The car maker elaborated this segment of buyers are mostly married men in their 30s “who value style, fuel economy and affordability.” Majority of them — TMP put the figure at 81% — are first-time buyers whose monthly income are around P80,000-P85,000.
Takamoto Suzuki added “customers are changing” as they get drawn to cars which appear “more emotional.” The engineer said this is why the new Vios gets “advanced and emotional styling,” citing in particular the car’s grille, head lamps and character lines on the flanks, as well as the large console in the cabin.
“I wanted to change the styling [and make the interior] advanced, comfortable and quiet,” he said.
In the first half of the year the previous Vios has already outsold the Fortuner by 3,181 units, or 14,219 units for the former versus 11,038 units for the latter. The arrival of the new Vios may just mean this trend will continue. — Brian M. Afuang