The Toyota Lite Ace returned to the Philippine market on July 2022, this time as a small pick-up or panel van for businesses.

The latest company to add the Lite Ace to their fleet is House of Fruitas. If that sounds familiar, it is the firm that handles popular food and beverage brands like Fruitas House of Desserts and De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) in an October 2022 press statement announced that it turned over three units of the Lite Ace FX to House of Fruitas through its Toyota Makati dealership.

The vehicles will be used to transport people, equipment and raw materials to the company's 700 stores nationwide.

"Taos-puso ang aming pasasalamat sa kanilang masigabong pagtanggap sa aming bagong produkto na tunay na makatutulong sa mga lumalaking kumpanya tulad nila," said Toyota Makati General Manager Lee Junia.

"Kami ay naniniwalang swerteng ‘Buena Mano' ang Fruitas sa amin at sa magiging bentahan ng Lite Ace dito sa bansa," he added.

[Translation: We wish to thank them wholeheartedly for their positive reception to our new product, which will truly help growing companies like theirs. We believe that Fruitas is a lucky first sale for us and for our sales of the Lite Ace here in the country.]

Meanwhile, House of Fruitas founder and CEO Lester Yu thanked TMP for the Lite Ace, saying that his company has been a loyal Toyota customer for a long time.

"A lot of our customers rely on us to provide them with high quality products that are clean, convenient and served fresh daily while ensuring price affordability," he said. 

"In order to do this, we also need reliable partners like Toyota for us to operate smoothly on a daily basis," Yu added. "We applaud Toyota for delivering another vehicle that will surely satisfy the needs of businesses like ours."

Also available as a pickup or panel van

Much like the Lite Ace of the 1990s, the 2022 Toyota Lite Ace is a gasoline-powered utility vehicle that comes in various body styles.

These include the FX van that House of Fruitas bought, along with a drop-side pickup and a panel van.

The Lite Ace is powered by a 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 from the Toyota Vios, Avanza and Veloz. It produces 98 PS and 134 Nm of torque, which is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.

It also comes with anti-lock brakes and dual front airbags, along with Vehicle Stability Control for the Lite Ace panel van.

Do you think House of Fruitas made a good pick with the Lite Ace FX?