Toyota Motor Philippines has had a very busy year revamping its lineup with the introduction of several all-new models and mid-cycle refreshes to some of its existing vehicles.

But recently, we noticed something amiss from its model list – the Yaris hatchback. After talking to a TMP executive, we have confirmed that Toyota has quietly dropped the model, and is no longer being sold in their nationwide dealerships. The only Yaris you can find now on the TMP website is the all-new Yaris Cross, which is a crossover based on the Daihatsu DNGA platform.

Prior to being dropped, the Yaris was basically the hatchback twin of the current Vios. It even got a facelift earlier in the year in Thailand, but TMP decided not to bring the facelifted version to the country.

The Yaris hatchback is a popular choice for car enthusiasts, particularly the first (known as Vitz/Echo) and second-generation models where it has a strong following. But for brand-new car buyers, the current local trend shows there's greater demand for high-riding vehicles such as crossovers, SUVs and MPVs. As such, the demand for the hatchback -especially compared to the locally-made Vios- was just not there.

While TMP has not made an official statement with their reason for dropping the Yaris hatchback, it's likely that they've opened up the inventory once occupied by the Yaris hatchback for more units of the Yaris Cross. Lately, we've been seeing a growing number of Yaris Cross units on our roads, and that applies to both its hybrid and non-hybrid variants.

But for those looking for a B-segment hatchback, you may want to check out models from other brands, particularly Honda with the City hatchback, Suzuki with the Swift, and Mazda with the 2 hatchback as the Yaris is no longer available.