Sales of Toyota’s IMV series reach 5M units in March

Cumulative sales of its Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle (IMV) project reached five million units as of end-March this year, Toyota Motor Corp. reported Wednesday.

 

The IMV is a five-model series of three pickup trucks, a minivan, and a sports utility vehicle. The Philippine series consists of the Hilux (IMV3), Fortuner (IMV4), and Innova (IMV5) that is built in Toyota Motor Philippines Corp.’s factory in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

 

"Since the start of production, the series has been warmly received by Toyota customers around the world, as reflected by the steadily growing sales, Toyota Motor noted in a statement.

 

“Cumulative global sales hit the one-million mark in 2006, two million in 2008, three million in 2009, four million in 2010, and five million in March this year," the statement read.

 

The IMV project was envisioned to give consumers high-quality vehicles in a timely manner, said Toyota Motor managing officer Kazuhiro Kobayashi.

 

The IMV vehicles were developed in 2004 to meet the demand in over 140 countries, with the Philippines turned into a domestic production base for the Innova under the integrated production system of the IMV project. 

 

Innova was the highest selling commercial vehicle in the Philippines last year, with 11,805 units sold.

 

According to Toyota Motor, the Philippines was also designated as the production base for G-type and R-Type transmissions and constant velocity joint (CVJ) for the IMV project.

 

Apart from Toyota Motor Philippines, Toyota Autoparts Phils. Inc. supplies its affiliates in Thailand, Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Venezuela, and South Africa. —VS, GMA News