Since the return of the Toyota Lite Ace in the Philippines last year, the light commercial vehicle (LCV) has been providing businesses with flexible mobility solutions. The latest company to welcome the Lite Ace to its operations is Lalamove through its auto brand, Lalamove Automotive.
Lalamove is a partner of Toyota
With the partnership, aspiring and existing Lalamove operators can now purchase the Lite Ace Panel Van with an affordable pricing scheme under Lalamove Automotive’s Vehicle Ownership Program. The partnership was made possible with Toyota Taytay, Rizal (TTR) and Toyota Financial Services Philippines (TFS).
The Toyota Lite Ace Panel Van is one of the four variants offered in the local market. This particular variant is designed to haul business goods with its closed cargo cabin that measures 2,075mm in length and 1,495mm in width. It also boasts 5-link coil springs at the rear, as opposed to the use of leaf springs in other variants.
Powering the Lite Ace is a 1.5-liter 2NR-VE gasoline engine capable of delivering 97 horsepower and 134 Nm of torque. Regardless of the variant, the engine sends power exclusively to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission.
The Toyota Lite Ace Panel Van with the Lalamove markings
To reach out to more potential operators, TTR and Lalamove Automotive have rolled out a series of caravans that supports entrepreneurs. It provides comprehensive accident and repair coverage and free periodic maintenance service (PMS) for every Lite Ace purchase.
“We are very happy and excited that Toyota Taytay, Rizal is part of this partnership with Lalamove Automotive, Toyota Financial Services, and Toyota Motor Philippines. To have a hand in assisting our customers in improving their quality of life by expanding access through financing so they can acquire reliable Toyota mobility vehicles to use in their business is a privilege on our part,” said TTR President Zellyn Lim.
“We hope that in the long run, more and more customers will benefit from this partnership, leading to better livelihoods for more Filipinos and a stronger Philippines,” added Lim.
Toyota Lite Ace Panel Van
Lalamove isn’t the only renowned company to use the Lite Ace for its business mobility. Last year, House of Fruitas’ acquired units of the Lite Ace FX through Toyota Makati, Inc. (TMI).
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Know more about Toyota Lite Ace 2024
The Toyota Lite Ace is a light commercial vehicle. It was introduced to the local market by Toyota Motor Philippines on July 15, 2022, and it comes in August with different variants.
Powering the Toyota Lite Ace is a 1.5-liter inline-4 gasoline engine. At maximum, it can make up to 94 horsepower and 134 Nm of torque.
Size-wise, the Panel Van is 4,045mm long, 1,665mm wide, and 1,930mm in height. The Pickup truck variant meanwhile, is 4,195mm long, 1,675 wide, and 1,920mm tall. The FX utility, then has a length of 4,300mm, a width of 1,675mm, and a height of 2,015. The largest Lite Ace variant is the Cargo utility van, which spans 4,370mm long, 1,675mm wide, and 2,165mm in height.
Locally, the 2023 Toyota Lite Ace competes against the likes of the Suzuki Carry, Mitsubishi L300, Kia K2500, and Isuzu Travis, among others.
>>> New and used Toyota Lite Ace 2025 for sale in the Philippines
Toyota Lite Ace Launch
Initially, the Lite Ace name was released globally way back in 1970. It then enjoyed a great deal of popularity as a simple but capable people carrier in the Philippines from the 1980s to the 1990s.
More recently in July 2022, TMP revived the famed name as a light commercial vehicle. It comes in four forms: a panel van, a pickup truck, an aluminum cargo van, and an FX utility van.
Toyota Lite Ace Exterior
On the outside, the Philippine-spec Lite Ace assumes a simple box-like design equipped with 14-inch steel wheels, halogen headlamps, and halogen taillights. Its front end looks similar to the original Lite Ace as it also comes with a slanting wedge shape.
The pickup truck in particular features a flat bed with dropside capability. The panel van meanwhile has power side and rear doors.
Toyota Lite Ace Interior
As a simple logistics-focused ride, the Lite Ace gets a simple front cabin. Its dash is mostly made of durable plastic, though it has some niceties like cupholders and ample elbowroom. It also has manual air-conditioning, as well as manually adjustable PVC-clad seats.
Technology & Safety Features
For safety, the Lite Ace comes standard with dual front airbags and antilock braking. Both trims also come with seat belts and a steering lock. Only the panel van though, gets stability control.
Toyota Lite Ace Chassis
The all-new Lite Ace falls under the S-series of models just like the Japanese-spec S400 series Lite Ace and Town Ace. Like the model sold in other markets, it also assumes a semi-cab-over-engine body.
For suspensions, the Panel van gets a Macpherson strut for the front, and a five-link type for the rear. The pickup truck version meanwhile, uses leaf springs for the rear.
Toyota Lite Ace Engine
Powering the 2023 Toyota Lite Ace is a 1.5-liter inline-4 engine. This is the same 2NR-VE that the Avanza and Veloz use, though it was detuned to produce up to 94 horsepower and 134 Nm of torque.
All trims of the new Lite Ace are rear-wheel-drive, and they all use a five-speed manual gearbox.
For the Philippine market, the Toyota Lite Ace’s sole color option is White 2.
The Toyota Lite Ace’s features are largely on-par with other similarly sized light commercial vehicles in the market. It also sits in the middle of the pack in terms of power output, with some models being able to trump it solely because they are diesel-powered and have more torque. Hopefully, Toyota PH can also release more variants for the Lite Ace as it only has two currently.
Toyota Lite Ace 2025 Price List
Variants | Price |
---|---|
Toyota Lite Ace 1.5 Panel Van MT | ₱695,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace 1.5 Cargo Aluminum Van MT | ₱699,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace 1.5 FX Utility Van MT | ₱747,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace 1.5 Patrol Vehicle | ₱820,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace 1.5 Patient Transport Vehicle | ₱945,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace MPUV Class 1 | ₱998,000 |
Toyota Lite Ace Pros & Cons
Pros
- Affordable
- Looks robust
- Ample features
- Decent engine output
Cons
- Only two variants at launch
₱ 645,000 - ₱ 737,000
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