The TRAIN series: Recap of PH vehicle prices this 2018 (Part 1)

This week, we’ve seen a few car brands update their price list to conform to the Philippine government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, which took effect January 1, 2018. In case you missed those, here’s a quick recap of what has happened so far.

Among the mainstream brands, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) was the first to release the new pricing scheme. In their line-up, however, there were three models that weren’t affected by the change: the Pilot premium SUV, the Legend luxury sedan, and the Civic Type R hot hatch.

The Pilot and Legend didn’t change prices as the locally available units were imported before the implementation of the excise tax. As for the Civic Type R, HCPI says it isn’t sure if it additional stocks will come this year.

As for the rest of Honda’s line-up, it was a hike across the board. Well, sans the top-of-the-line Odyssey, which decreased by P16,000.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) followed with their own update. Interestingly, the Hilux pickup truck, Prius and Prius C hybrids, and the Land Cruiser, saw huge cuts in their respective price figures.

According to the rules on excise tax, the Hilux is considered as a truck therefore it's exempted.  Meanwhile, hybrid vehicles such as the Prius are subject to just 50% tax to encourage more brands to import such cars. All the remaining models received a price increase including popular nameplates such as the Vios, Wigo, Avanza, and Innova.

On the other hand, Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division, is the first premium brand to release the updated retail value of their vehicles. Out of the 15 non-hybrid models in their stable, only 4 received a price hike: IS 350, IS 350 F-Sport, LC 500, and the LX 570.

As for the hybrid cars by Lexus, a lot saw huge dips with some amounting to as much as P1,190,000. Meanwhile, the CT 200h, LS 500, and LS 500h didn’t have any movement in terms of its tariff probably due to its remaining stocks.

Foton updated their prices as well. Oddly enough, the Thunder received an increase despite it being a pickup truck. Meanwhile, the Chinese brand raised prices for its revamped vehicle lineup which saw the introduction of new variants for the Toplander, Toano, Gratour, and Tornado. On the other hand, the View Traveller 16-seater van’s tag remained the same at P1,348,000.

The implementation for excise tax is not all doom and gloom, well, for this month at least. While other brands have yet to release their respective price changes, Hyundai has announced that they won’t be increasing rates until January ends. In addition, fellow Korean brand SsangYong said that there will be no movement for the first three months of 2018.