Whenever Toyota says something, does something, or launches anything in the Philippines and/or in Southeast Asia, the industry takes notice. They’re not market leaders in the region for nothing, so when they do something -anything- we all pay attention.

So when we received a tip from one of our very well-placed contacts in the region that Toyota Motor Corporation is considering launching a model in Southeast Asia that isn’t made in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, or Japan, then we know something is up.

According to our insider, Toyota is seriously planning to introduce the bZ3X in Southeast Asia. And yes, it will come from GAC-Toyota’s factories.

If our insider is correct (and our source usually is), this would be the first Chinese-made Toyota that will be officially offered outside of. All Toyota badged and joint-venture built models in China have only been for China, except unofficial units that may have entered via gray market dealers.

The bZ3X is the second model under the “Beyond Zero” (hence the bZ moniker) brand of vehicles under Toyota, and is a crossover as well, just like the larger bZ4X from Japan. And if the bZ4X was co-developed with Subaru (hence the Solera), the bZ3X is co-developed with GAC. Actually, it shares its EV skateboard platform with the GAC Aion V over in China. Interesting note: the Aion V is already being sold by GAC in the Philippines.

What makes it different is the approach to an EV that is very much Chinese. What we mean by that is the very forward design, a minimalist interior with very few physical buttons inside, a very advanced ADAS suite (as opposed to Toyota Safety Sense), high-capacity batteries with up to 610 kilometers of range, and a tray table installed on the back of the front passenger seat for the rear passenger. And of course, the pricing is very affordable: in China, the bZ3X retails for less than 1 million pesos. There are gray market importers of the vehicle here, which are significantly more than that price, though.

There have been rumors and reports of Toyota considering the bZ3X for Southeast Asia when it was first revealed last year. However, the rumors centered around how Toyota is supposedly urging its Chinese partners and suppliers to set up assembly in Thailand for the model to get around certain import tax issues and take advantage of the benefits from the government.

To be honest, though, we don’t see that as highly likely given the cost of investing. For many markets in Southeast Asia, importing from China may be the way to go. That is especially true for the Philippine import regulations on EVs, and that means it should be relatively easy for Toyota Motor Philippines to do so.

The only questions that remain: Is TMP ready to make the leap (just like Nissan) by pivoting towards a Chinese-developed and Chinese-made BEV? And is the Filipino Toyota customer ready and willing to try it out?

Personally, I’m willing to bet yes on the latter. On the former, we shall see. They did start getting the Urban Cruiser from India, so they are open to these things. But we hope they do it soon, and hope they price it right.