Toyota Motor Philippines introduced a new Vios variant on Wednesday, the Vios GRS, a sporty sedan that aims to stir the sports vehicle market and fill the required production volume required by the vehicle incentives program of the government.
Toyota president Atsuhiro Okamoto said the car company aimed to bring back the thrill of driving not only to the Filipino racing community but also to motorsports enthusiasts.
“Today, we are quite excited to launch the Vios GR Sport. The country's most trusted model injected with GR spirit. Our goal with GRS is to transform your reliable everyday car to a Vios that gives a more pleasurable drive, whether on track, or on the road,” he said Wednesday during the hybrid media launch of the new Toyota sports car.
“What better way to experience the thrill of driving – driving the car itself, not just in the racetrack, not just for race car drivers, but in everyday roads, by regular people like you and me,” Okamoto said.
Vios GRS is the first product under the GR series that will be officially launched on March 13, 2021 on the virtual platform.
Toyota expect to sell about 50 units of the Vios GRS a month, which is about 1.6 percent of the total sales of the Vios annually.
Over the years, Toyota has sold about 340,000 Vios as the model survived four generations and make-overs in 18 years since its introduction.
Toyota vice president for corporate communications Rommel Gutierrez said the new Vios GRS would also help the company comply with the required production volume to obtain the incentives under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy, the most ambitious vehicle incentives program where Toyota’a Vios was a registered participant.
He said the company continued to coordinate with the Board of Investments for the extension of compliance to the program which was among the programs affected by the strict quarantine measures in 2020.
Okamoto also announced the revival of the motor racing events which Toyota sees as a vehicle to create renewed interest in the automotive industry and as a spectacle for motor and car racing enthusiasts.
“We want to bring back the thrill of driving to the Filipino racing community. Future race car drivers can also be excited about our local motorsports activities this year, both online and on track. With all the proper safety protocols we hope to reduce physical race places this year for our drivers, and Motorsports fans. Of course, this will be supported by a growing online racing community through the second season of our GR GT Cup,” he said.
Apart from the GR GT Cup, Toyota is also gearing up for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios Cup.
“With the new Vios GRS, we have once again reinvented the Filipinos most preferred car with its upgraded design and new features. We can truly expect the variant to be pushing the limits for better. It brings the drive experience and expressive design of Toyota Gazoo Racing, while still doing everything else expected of it,” said Toyota first vice president for marketing Sherwin Chualim.