'Toyota cars in Philippines different from those in US'

In an effort to calm customer concerns over recent safety recalls, an official of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) assured its Filipino buyers that their cars are not manufactured in Europe and in the United States.

Engr. Vitaliano Mamawal III, TMP vice president for customer service operations, made it clear that Toyota cars in the Philippines are either locally manufactured or sourced from Indonesia, Japan, or Thailand.

"So iba ang specfications namin (So our cars have different specifications compared to those in the US)," Mamawal said in an interview at radio dzMM's "Tambalang Failon at Sanchez" on Friday.

Still, he advised customers to talk to their dealers if they have questions or concerns about cars that they have recently purchased. At present, TMP has 28 dealers nationwide.

"The numbers of the dealers are in the warranty booklets. I'll assure you that they'll attend to your concerns immediately," Mamawal said.

It has been a standard practice in the global automotive industry for carmakers to replace vehicles and parts that have defects in workmanship for free, provided that these are still within the company's warranty period.

As for TMP, Mamawal said their cars have a 3-year warranty and a mileage warranty of 100,000 kilometers.

But even if the car goes beyond the said warranties, he said TMP will still make an effort to check its condition and find ways to serve the customer better.

"We would still attend to them, but of course I hope they'll understand that we have to go through some steps so we can serve them better," he explained.

A number of Filipinos have expressed concern over the massive safety recalls of Toyota and Honda cars in some parts of the globe through the Internet. (Read: US recall worries Toyota, Honda owners in Philippines)

This came despite TMP's assurance that their cars do not have any defects and will still be sold in the country. (Read: Toyota cars in the Philippines not affected by safety recall)