Trendy hybrids adapt to Philippines’ gnarly, traffic-battered roads

TOKYO, Japan—Imagining Southeast Asia moved by electric cars may no longer be a pipe dream, as Toyota Motors sells more hybrids in countries such as Thailand and the Philippines.

The Philippines had so far sold 30 hybrid units of the All-New Corolla Altis, data showed, an encouraging sign for the Japanese company since the model was only launched in September this year. The company is targeting to sell 20 units per month.

Toyota’s hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) switch between using fuel and electricity. The HEV self-charges for its electricity requirement while the fuel is running, a flexibility that would hopefully attract more interest from the Filipino market.

“Some might think it’s premature to think about vehicle electrification in Asia, but that is not the case,” David Nordstrom, vice president for Toyota Motor in Asia Pacific, said earlier this week in a media event prior to the biennial Tokyo Motor Show.

“In fact, in Thailand, almost 40 percent of the C-HR crossovers sold are hybrid electric vehicles. Almost 70 percent of the Camrys sold are HEVs,” he added.

In an interview this week, he told reporters HEVs did not need any special infrastructure to support itself since they were self-charging, making these cars “an immediate positive contributor in environment protection for any market.”

“Having said that, we do understand that the speed of adoption and popularization of electrified vehicles such as HEVs depend on many factors such as environmental and economic reasons affecting consumer demand,” he said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) wants more support from the national government to help make HEVs more attractive to consumers.

TMP president Satoru Suzuki said hybrid vehicles should receive the same perks the government was giving to purely electric ones.

Under the first tax reform package of the Duterte administration, only purely electric vehicles are exempt from excise. On the other hand, hybrid vehicles—despite being the more practical choice—are taxed 50 percent.

Toyota, including HEVs in its luxury brand Lexus, only sold 481 units since 2009 up to April this year, around 32 percent of which, or 155 units, were Prius cars. A Prius costs around P2.3 million.

“We don’t think the customers really appreciate the benefit of hybrid at this still high level of a price,” Suzuki said earlier this year.

“So we need to promote hybrid more and more and familiarize its functions to the customers, then maybe the customers will start to know and appreciate,” he added. The newly launched hybrid Altis, for one, costs close to P1.6 million.

But with Southeast Asian countries moving slowly in adopting the new technology, Toyota is already looking far ahead without losing its grip on the steering wheel.

The motor show in Japan, one of the biggest events in the industry, is an opportunity for car companies across the globe to show off their concept vehicles.

The Japanese company teased “modes of mobility,” such as the e-Pallete, a concept vehicle in the works that is eventually seen to become a moving “office, a shop, or even a hotel.”

Another feature is the LQ, a concept vehicle that represents a shift in Toyota’s priorities from sales to something more existential in nature.

The still in development LQ has an AI agent named YUI, who will actively engage with the driver to adopt to his or her behavior and interests.

YUI can start a conversation about something the driver likes if he or she starts getting sleepy, while directing him or her to a nearby expressway service.