Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Manufacturing, automotive industry |
Founded | 1962 |
Defunct | 1984 (dissolved in 1988) |
Fate | Dissolved following political disfavor [1] |
Successor | Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Philippines |
Key people | Ricardo C. Silverio, Sr. |
Products | Automobiles, engines |
Delta Motor Corporation was a former automobile company established by Ricardo C. Silverio Sr. in the Philippines. [2] It operated under a technical tie-up with Toyota Motor Corporation of Japan, [3] but also produced its own range of small off-roaders called the "Delta Mini Cruiser". Delta was founded in 1962 and continued to be Toyota's local assembler and distributor until 1984. [4]
In addition to assembling Toyotas for the local market, Delta also used their own name to market the "Mini Cruiser", a little off-roader appearing a lot like a scaled-down 40-series Toyota Land Cruiser and using Toyota engines and other technology. [5] It was developed in the mid-seventies especially for the Philippine Army as the M-1777, but was also sold commercially. [6]
The Mini Cruiser (sometimes called the Explorer) was even exported, to Colombia, Papua New Guinea, the Middle East and to Italy. [7] In Italy, it was sold by Gandin Auto from 1980. [8] About 500 units were sold in Italy until supplies dried up in 1986, following Delta's untimely bankruptcy in 1984. [9] The now rare Delta Mini Cruiser also became available as a two-seater pickup truck, estate, van, and as a five-seater jeep in the 1980s.
An interesting development was one of the first "Asian Utility Vehicles" (AUV), the Toyota Tamaraw. [10] [11] This little utilitarian car was based on the Indonesian Kijang, and the "Tamaraw" name continues to be used in the Philippine market today, also becoming a colloquial term for any AUV. Toyota themselves refer to this car as a BUV, for "Basic Utility Vehicle". The BUV was intended to be a general-purpose vehicle for developing countries, designed to meet local needs and facilitate technology transfers in order to respond to the domestic production policies of various Asian countries. Philippine assembly began in December 1976. [4]
Delta also built Toyota's 12R engine from 1973, [10] the tools and die-sets for which were acquired through the Philippine National Bank (PNB) as part of Japan's war reparations to the Philippines.
Silverio fell out of favor with then Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos during the Philippine economic downturn in the early eighties. [1] Operations came to a halt in December 1983 and by March 1984, Toyota cancelled their tie-up. The company was dissolved in 1988, with 35% of its assets going to Toyota and Mitsui and the remaining 65% going to the Philippine National Bank. [3] Toyota formally entered the Philippine market in August 1988 through its subsidiary Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMPC). [4]
President Marcos Jr. said in February 2023 that the Mini Cruiser formerly made by DMC could be revived during meetings with Toyota representatives from Japan. [12]
The company was active in professional basketball in the Philippines from 1973 to 1983 with its Toyota basketball team, [13] led by notable players like Alberto Reynoso, Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz and Ramon Fernandez.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. As of 2019, the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 10 million units worldwide.
A jeepney, or simply a jeep, is a type of public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. It is known for its crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become a widespread symbol of Philippine culture and art. At the 1964 New York World's Fair, a Sarao jeepney was exhibited in the Philippine pavilion as a national symbol for Filipinos.
The Toyota Corona is an automobile manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota across eleven generations between 1957 and 2001. On launch, the Corona was Toyota's second-highest product in their range, just below the Crown. The Corona was marketed in the JDM at Toyota's Toyopet Store dealership channels, and the Corona was one of Toyota's first models exported to other global markets, followed by the smaller Toyota Corolla.
The Toyota R family was a series of inline-four gasoline automobile engines. Designed for longitudinal placement in such vehicles as the Celica and Hilux and in production from 1953 through 1997, usage faded out as many of Toyota's mainstream models moved to front-wheel drive. Overhead cam (OHC) versions featured a chain-driven camshaft.
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The Toyota Publica is a small car manufactured by the Japanese company Toyota from 1961 until 1978. Conceived as a family car to fulfill the requirements of the Japanese Government's "national car concept", it was the smallest Toyota car during that period and was superseded in that role by the Toyota Starlet, which itself started out as a version of the Publica. It was available as a 2-door vehicle only, but in a selection of body styles, ranging from the base sedan through a station wagon, convertible, coupé and even a coupe utility (pickup), which outlived the other models by a decade, and spawned other models, such as the Toyota Sports 800 and the Toyota MiniAce.
The Toyota LiteAce and TownAce are a line of light commercial and derivative passenger vans produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. These vehicles originally utilized the cab-over-engine configuration, although since 1996 a semi-cab-over arrangement has featured instead. The LiteAce launched in 1970 as light-duty truck, with commercial and van/wagon body variants added in 1971. In 1976, Toyota released the larger TownAce van/wagon that derived from the LiteAce; a TownAce truck arrived later in 1978. Between 1982 and 1992, the series accommodated the MasterAce Surf—an upscale TownAce passenger wagon.
A basic utility vehicle (BUV) is a simple rugged vehicle designed for use in the developing world. A slew of such vehicles were developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s; most only reached limited production and market penetration, as used Western vehicles often proved cheaper. In Southeast Asia, these are often referred to as Asian utility vehicles (AUV). They have also been called basic transportation vehicles (BTV).
The Toyota ToyoAce is a light to medium cab over truck built by Toyota since September 1954. Until a renaming contest in 1956, the truck was sold as the "Toyopet Light Truck SKB". Since 1985 the ToyoAce and Dyna truck lines have been merged, with the Dynas generally being intended for heavier duty work. In Japan, it was exclusive to Japanese Toyota dealerships called Toyopet Store.
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The automotive industry in the Philippines is one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region, with approximately 441.4 thousand vehicles sold in 2023. Most of the vehicles sold and built in the Philippines are from foreign brands. For the most part, the Philippines is dominated by Japanese automobile manufacturers like most of its ASEAN neighbors. The automobile production in the country is covered under the Philippine Motor Vehicle Development Program implemented by the Board of Investments. In addition, there are also a small number of independent firms who assemble and fabricate jeepneys and other similar vehicles, using surplus engines and drivetrain parts mostly from Japan.
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Vehicle is customised but has an image of the id plate showing the chassis code as RJ2B, engine as 12RM and gearbox as GMC 4 SPD 5-38