Japanese car firm Toyota made a P1.1 billion investment pledge to help the Philippine government's program to modernize public utility vehicles, Malacañang said on Friday.

In a statement, Malacañang said Toyota made the investment pledge during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s trip to Japan this month on the sidelines of the 50th Commemorative ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit.

Toyota Executive Vice President Yoichi Miyazaki promised an extra P1.1 billion during the event, on top of the P4.4 billion the company had already promised to spend in the Philippines.

"We have completed an investment of P1.3 billion out of P4.4 billion. We are committing an additional PhP1.1 billion for (…) a modern jeepney, bringing the total investment to P5.5 billion," Yoichi told Marcos in an update for their preparation for "the new Tamaraw" light commercial vehicle.

"The Tamaraw symbolizes our desire to contribute to the Philippine economy where we develop it to be a game changer in the field of mobility service… we look forward to your continued support in creating the adoption of the program," Yoichi added.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation head Okamoto Atsuhiro said that the new version of the famous 1990s car will be cleaner, have a better engine and may even come as an electric car.

"We were committed to investing the P4.4 billion for a light commercial vehicle, called the Toyota IMV 0 Project. It's the new generation Tamaraw project; we will enter this in the IMV 0 in the near future," he said on the sidelines of a send-off dinner Toyota hosted for members of the Philippine delegation.

"Basically FR, but the same as the current HiLux, basically the same structure. Diesel, basically diesel engine Cleaner engine, clean diesel," he added.

Marcos said he was glad to see the Toyota Tamaraw return and said that Filipinos had relied on it for many years as a reliable utility vehicle.

Marcos said many of the Tamaraws that Toyota built not long ago are still on the road, calling it a "workhorse."

The President said that the Tamaraw name has been around for a long time in the Philippines and is not new to the Asian market.

"We have always been appreciative, especially in the involvement of Toyota in the Philippines over so many years, and I think the mutual experience between Toyota and the Philippine and the local markets has been a good one, and the partnership we can look to as a success," Marcos said.

"It is very interesting to hear your new plans for the Philippines, and it's very much in alignment with what we're trying to do… we are hoping to improve the situation for your supplier to be able to come into the ease of doing business," he told the Toyota executives.