UMW Toyota Drops 86, Prius and Prius c From Official Malaysian Sale

UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT), the official distributor or Toyota vehicles in Malaysia, has dropped its range of Prius hybrid models (Prius, Prius c) and its 86 sports coupe from its list of vehicles sold here – a source confirmed the news after we caught wind of it.

Understandably, the missing Prius and Prius c doesn’t surprise us too much, given that the car no longer benefits from the import and excise duty exemptions that once saw its prices slashed all the way down to RM139k and RM97k.

Since the duty and tax reliefs were removed beginning January 2014, as dictated in the latest National Automotive Policy, prices for the Prius and Prius c were last at RM216,400 and RM153,170 respectively, reducing market interest and demand tremendously.

As far as we understand, UMW Toyota’s future hybrid line-up with consist of a locally-assembled Toyota Camry Hybrid, which we know comes to Malaysia later this year.

The other model dropped is one enthusiast may rue, and that’s the Toyota 86 sports coupe. The two-door model retailed from RM243k when it was launched in 2012, but will no longer be in authorised Toyota showrooms.

However, speaking to a source within Toyota confirmed that UMWT will still accept individual orders for the vehicle should you insist on an official vehicle, but suggested that prices for it may differ from the original list price or RM243k – factors involved in determining this includes things like the prevailing forex: if or not that warrants a purchase over parallel-imported units of the car, is yours to dispute. The same applies to the Prius, and Prius C.