Shaping the next 30 years

Toyota Alabang has played an impressive role over the past 30 years in shaping the evolution of auto dealerships in the Philippines. Not only that, it has found ways to overcome and learn from challenges and crises.

“On Sept. 15, 1989, Toyota

Alabang opened its doors to the public. This single step was filled with both excitement and uncertainty. Excitement because we were proud to be the partner of the most respected, recognized and most loved

automotive brand in the world. Uncertainty, because the 1986 People Power Revolution has then just transpired and the economic roadmap of the country was yet to unfold,” recalled Toyota Alabang president and GM Jhoanna Lee-See during the company’s anniversary bash last Friday.

The grand celebration was graced by Department of Information & Communications Technology Secretary  Greg Honasan,  top executives of Toyota Motor Philippines, VIPs from the motoring and banking sectors and loyal customers.

Department of Information & Communications Technology Secretary Greg Honasan (center), Toyota Alabang, Inc. founder and chairman Cesar Tiu Lee (fifth from right) and Toyota Motor Philippines chairman Alfred Ty (third from left) with, from left, Kei Mizuguchi (TMP), Jorge San Agustin (BMW), Dr. Antonio Abacan Jr. (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monetary Board), Betty Lu (Toyota Cagayan de Oro), Jimmy Bautista, Al Mendoza, Rommel Gutierrez (CAMPI) and Mico Lee (TAI).

From its inception, providing customer delight in the southern part of Metro Manila has always been the guiding principle of Toyota Alabang. “To make this possible, our founder and my father, Cesar Tiu Lee, had to innovate, come up with customer-oriented strategies, and emphasize quality work. He has been able to impart all these to everyone in this company,” said See.

“Cesar Lee is a person who develops and practices many, many unique and excellent ideas. I personally experienced all these when I was still assigned in the Philippines and had to work with him closely,” recalled Yasumori Ihara, advisor to Aisin Seiki of Japan, who used to work for Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) from the year 1991 to 1995 as sales division manager.

Thrive

As a result, Toyota Alabang was able to thrive when it was still serving a market that was still in its infancy—south of Metro Manila, is not yet highly urbanized. It also survived the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 that crippled so many companies.

From left, Jojo Victor (Security Bank Auto Loans head), Dennis Fronda (Vice-President of BPI-FSB), Yogi Salcedo (Chairman of Security Bank) and Ginbee Go (President of BPI-FSB).

“Not only did we survive the biggest challenge in our business existence, but we grew and continued providing exceptional customer service such that we needed a bigger facility,” recalled See.

That was when Toyota Alabang, in 2014, moved to its present headquarters: A 7-story, 28,000-sq.m facility that became the first Toyota dealership to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED-certified, as well as the first Toyota dealership to pursue excellence in both quality management systems through ISO 9001 and attain superior environmental management systems through ISO 14001.

“In 2018, we opened another 32,000-sq.m service facility to accommodate the continuously increasing demand for service and repair. We are hoping that this Service Center, also a LEED Gold-certified and the biggest service center in Far East Asia, will continue to bring genuine customer smiles,” promised See.

Top performer

TMP president Satoru Suzuki lauded the dealership’s many accomplishments: “Toyota Alabang continues to be one of TMP’s consistent top performing dealership in the network, passing on their knowledge, and their experience to develop highly competent team members. Their sales force is in a league of their own, placing as the best of the best, bagging seven MP (Marketing Professional) of the Year awards in this decade alone.

From left, Toyota Motor Philippines president Satoru Suzuki, Cesar Lee, Yasumori Ihara (Aisin Seiki Japan advisor) and Tatsushi Komatsu

“As a consistent recipient of the Overall Dealer Performance Award, Toyota Alabang has shown that they do not only comply with Toyota’s strict standards, but aim to exceed beyond what is expected. This is evident in their recent investments in top-grade facilities which allow the best possible car ownership experience for our customers.”

But beyond building the finest facilities, Suzuki challenged everyone in the audience: “We need to embody the Toyota brand, always keeping a kaizen (Japanese term meaning improvement) mindset, and our signature service at the heart of operations. With this, I expect Toyota Alabang to lead the way in always providing better cars, leading to better lives.”

Candidates of the Ms. Toyota Alabang Pageant, held as one of the highlights of the company’s 30th anniversary celebration, are presented to the crowd prior to the coronation of the winner tomorrow, Sept. 19.