Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has implemented its fourth price hike this year on its various models amid higher costs due to weakening local currency and unrelenting oil price hikes even as customers are experiencing long waiting period in the delivery of some models due to global supply disruption.

TMP officials explained over the weekend that the delayed delivery of orders on some TMP models is being caused by global supply disruption while the increase in price has been triggered by higher cost, particularly the weak peso against the US dollar.

On the issue of delayed delivery, Sherwin Chualim, TMP first vice-president for vehicle sales operations, said that depending on model, the waiting period could range from three months to one year, especially for imported completely built-up units.

In light of this, TMP advised the public that TMP strictly enforces a one price policy across its dealer network nationwide. “It is against this policy to ask for any additional premium on top of the suggested retail price, for whatever reason,” the advisory stated.

Chualim, however, clarified that reservation fee is a normal practice to be deducted from total amount when full payment will be made. “Additional or premium fees are not tolerated,” Chualim emphasized.

“We seek further understanding of the delayed delivery of some of Toyota vehicle models/variants,” TMP said, extending its appreciation to loyal customers for their continued trust and confidence in their products.

On price increases, Jose Maria Atienza, TMP senior vice-president for marketing, said the latest round of price hike of between one to two percent on selected Toyota models took effect last Sept. 1. It was the fourth round in a series of price hikes for the year. TMP implemented the first three increases in January, June, and July.

The latest price hikes resulted in higher prices for the Raize, Avanza, and Veloz models at an average of P15,000 to P20,000 or one to two percent, Atienza said.

“This will definitely affect customer demand especially for the price sensitive segments, though it is difficult to assess the full impact at this time,” he added.

Chualim attributed the weakening of the peso and continued oil price hike had greatly impacted materials cost and logistics and freight costs. “TMP has no choice but to increase its price on vehicles,” said Chualim.

He, however, noted that considering that the big percentage of the market is financing, the increase in monthly payment is minimal.

A Toyota Calamba distributor has advised its customers that the latest round of price adjustment would affect models Vios, Raize, Veloz, Innova, HiAce Cargo, Coaster, Alphar, Commuter Deluxe, and Avanza.