Toyota PH’s 1M cars sold tighten its hold on Asia’s top 3 spot

If all 1,000,468 vehicles sold by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) over the past 26 years were distributed to all Filipinos today, then roughly one out of every 100 Pinoys would be owners of a Corolla, Crown, LiteAce, Tamaraw FX, Revo, Camry, Innova, Vios, Prius, Wigo, Altis, Fortuner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, 86, or Hilux.

That’s how ubiquitous the Toyota brand has been in the country. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that TMP would become the first automotive brand in the Philippines to sell one million of its cars, reaching that milestone just this April.

It was in December 2014 when TMP grabbed the No. 3 spot in Asia (excluding Japan) for its January to December sales, overtaking Malaysia as far as Toyota sales records are concerned.

The No. 1 and 2 spots are occupied by Indonesia and Thailand, respectively. From 19th in 2013, TMP pole-vaulted to 16th among Toyota distributors worldwide in 2014.

The hot streak in Asia actually began last year, when TMP was given the Excellent Quality Award by Toyota Japan for being the third-top manufacturing company in the Asia and Middle East region. Toyota Japan also gave the overall marketing award to TMP for its record sales, market share and customer service.

The one-million milestone was celebrated at Makati Shangri-La on July 9, and was attended by representatives from the Japanese and Philippine governments and VIPs of the private sector, including the leaders of rival car companies.

Multiawarded international singing superstar Lea Salonga, backed up by a live orchestra conducted by her brother Gerard, serenaded guests.

Capping off the night was the launch of the limited edition Vios and Innova, arguably two of TMP’s best-selling brands in recent years.

In his speech, Kyoichi Tanada, managing officer of Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC), CEO of Toyota Motor Corp. of Asia, Middle East and North Africa Region, and president of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific marketing and sales, engineering and manufacturing, was in profuse gratitude, as he thanked all one million customers for their trust and support, the 47 Toyota dealers “for achieving the first 500,000 unit [sales] in 18 years, and the next 500,000 within only eight years,” and TMP for its “No. 1 position in sales for the last 16 years” and holder of the Triple Crown “for the last 13 years consecutively.”

Tanada expressed TMC’s commitment to and support of the Philippine government’s recently signed Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, saying, “We are keen to participate and help government to further improve the local automotive industry and contribute to the Philippine economy.”

TMP president Michinobu Sugata likewise offered his thanks to the Philippine government. He also expressed hope that the CARS program “will further allow the continuity and competitiveness of the automotive manufacturing industry, leading to more jobs and revenue contributions to the Philippine economy.”

Sugata also expressed gratitude to TMP’s suppliers and affiliates, the 47 dealerships, and TMP’s team members.

“Just last May, TMP was recognized by our headquarters in Japan for excellence in both the fields of marketing and manufacturing; namely, the overall marketing award for excellent customer service, record sales and record market share in 2014, and the Excellent Manufacturing Company Award for being part of the top three manufacturing companies in the Asia and Middle East region because of the overall quality level.”

TMP’s Pinoys to Saudi

TMP now employs 48,000, its group investments have amounted to over P36 billion. TMP’s group suppliers have generated $11 billion in export earnings since 1997, and remitted over P174 billion to the country in taxes and duties since 1988. TMP chair Dr. George S.K. Ty said in his speech, “These have given us the means to implement the many corporate social responsibility programs that we have pursued directly and through the TMP Foundation.” Among those programs he mentioned was the TMP School of Technology, which started operations in September 2013 and now has a student population of 730.

“Its pioneer batch will be graduating in August 2015 and will soon be ready for employment in our Toyota local dealer network. TMP Tech has also partnered with Saudi Arabia under the Specialized Toyota Automotive Training Program. As of June 2015, a total of 161 graduates have been dispatched to Saudi Arabia,” said Ty.

“I am proud to say that, this early, the school is already fulfilling its mission of providing a better future for the Filipino youth by giving them gainful employment opportunities both locally and overseas,” added Ty.

Ty stressed that the one-million milestone does not only speak of the number of Toyota vehicles on the road. “More importantly, this number represents the many customers who have put their trust on the Toyota brand. To all our loyal customers, we are truly grateful,” he concluded.

615,190 assembled here

Sugata revealed that “more than half of the one million vehicles were manufactured in Toyota’s previous Bicutan assembly plant and in the Santa Rosa facility in Laguna.” To be exact, 615,190 units, or about 60 percent, were assembled locally since 1989, the year TMP started operations. Broken down by brand, these were: Corolla (183,755); Crown (1,522); LiteAce (18,834); Corona (6,434); Tamaraw FX (71,327); Revo (69,959); Camry (5,089 Camry); Innova (126,779), and Vios (131,491).

The top-selling models have been the Corolla (213,325 from 1989 to April 2015); Tamaraw FX (71,322 from 1991 to 2003); Hilux (55,889 from 1993 to present); Revo (69,959 from 1998 to 2005); Innova (126,779 from 2005 to April 2015); Vios (157,347 from 2003 to April 2015); and the Fortuner (96,270 from 2005 to present).

Of these brands, Sugata singled out the “best-selling Vios,” which he describes as “not only an everyday practical car that is preferred by more than 50 percent of consumers in its segment, but more so, a vehicle that has proven to perform well under extreme driving conditions on or off a full circuit race track,” referring to the popular Vios Cup One Make Race series.

Sugata went on to say that “Toyota has always worked under the framework of passion, the philosophy of customer first and the commitment of delivering great products and services. This milestone has been made possible in just 26 years, through your loyalty and trust in our brand.

“As we move forward, our commitment to total customer satisfaction will remain, as it has brought us to what we are today… a company that only puts our best intentions for the benefit of our customers. Achieving the milestone of selling one million units is a mere testimony to that. While this delights us, it further fuels us to serve our customers beyond their expectations,” said Sugata.

TMP’s 2014 sales of 106,000 landed the Philippines into the prestigious 100K club of Toyota distributors worldwide.

The hot streak continues. Sugata said that “for the first six months this 2015, Toyota nearly sold 58,000 units, giving us a 19-percent increase from the same period last year. Team Toyota has now shifted to higher gear, moving forward towards the next  one million units in less than 10 years time.”