Will Toyota PH stop making Vios and switch to imported Vios Ativ?

Crystal ball: We think Toyota will sell Vios and Vios Ativ side by side

Toyota has a tendency to play its cards close to the chest. That means they don’t release anything or talk about anything until they’re good and ready, as company secrets are kept just that: secret. Ask us how we know that.

So when Toyota Motor Philippines released a teaser yesterday showing what is obviously a big change in their model lineup, we knew the news would shake the local market. I’m talking about the new Vios… or rather the Vios Ativ.

Yes, Toyota released just a cropped shot of the car with a caption highlighting the A, T, I, and V, but it was more than enough. Toyota is launching the new generation Vios, which is known as Yaris Ativ in other markets (Thailand). Based on DOE documents, the vehicle will be known as Vios Ativ here, and it will have the 1.5L hybrid drive system shared with the Yaris Cross.

Truth be told, anything Toyota does in the Philippines in terms of model launches shakes up the industry; such is the norm for a company that is approaching a point where almost half of all new cars have the T badge. And we definitely pay attention if the new model happens to be the best-selling car in the Philippines for the last few years, garnering over 43,000 sales in 2024 despite being a fairly old model already. Only the Fortuner was able to surpass the Vios as the number one selling model in the country when the market was shaken to try and beat the TRAIN law excise taxes.

The coming launch brings another question: what will happen to the Vios that is in production at Toyota’s plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna?

The Vios Ativ will probably not be produced here in the Philippines for several reasons. The first is that Toyota just invested heavily in setting up a Hilux Champ/Tamaraw assembly line. Retooling for a new Vios Ativ may not be in the cards, especially since it adds a hybrid electric vehicle powertrain into the logistics mix. They will likely get the Vios Ativ from Thailand.

So will the production of the Vios cease? On that, we can answer based on a precedent that Toyota had already set: they will likely sell the imported Vios Ativ HEV alongside the Vios ICE that is made in the Philippines.

They will likely follow the example they already started with the Innova (also made in Laguna) and Innova Zenix (imported from Indonesia), with the former occupying the lower and mid-grade variant price range, while the premium high-grade variants being the Zenix and Zenix HEV. In that light and without any official announcement, we are 99.9% certain that Toyota will adopt the same strategy for the Vios and Vios Ativ to give customers a wider range of options for an affordable vehicle.

So what will the pricing be? Currently, the Toyota Vios lineup starts at PHP 738,000 for the 1.3 J 5-M/T, while the range-topping variant is the 1.5 G CVT at PHP 1,039,000. This will likely be maintained at these levels, unles there are some adjustments made due to inflation. When Toyota introduces the Vios Ativ HEV, the price would definitely be higher.

If we’re being optimistic with the pricing logic, we can say it will be around PHP 200,000 more than the 1.5 G, and will put it squarely in the price range of another hybrid: the BYD Seal 5. However, there is also a precedent to follow for the pricing strategy: the Yaris Cross. There exists a PHP 302,000 price hike from the non-hybrid 1.5 V at PHP 1,308,000 to the 1.5 S HEV at PHP 1,610,000.

By that logic, the Vios Ativ will probably start at PHP 1.3 million. Or they can surprise us and price it lower.