Toyota PH, celebrating 35 years as #1

On Dec. 19, 2014, Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, the retired chairperson of Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan visited our country. His close personal friends, Dr. George S. K. Ty and his amiable wife Mary, hosted a private dinner in his honor at their home for about 12 guests, including me and my late wife, Leni. Doctor Ty seated me on the left of the guest of honor.

DURING THE COURSE OF THE DINNER, I asked the legendary Doctor Toyoda—who parlayed Toyota as an honored icon among the best motor vehicles in the world—why Toyota Motor Corp. (Japan) yielded the majority control of their subsidiary in the Philippines to the Metrobank Group (founded and headed by Dr. Ty) when, in contrast, in all other parts of the world, it always held the majority.

He replied that his company had, and continues to have, absolute trust in Doctor Ty because it was only in the Philippines that Toyota had consistently topped (and still continues to top for 35 years and counting) all other motor vehicle brands. Not even in Japan has such record been equaled, not to say surpassed. To be fair, the indefatigable dinner host had offered several times to surrender control, but the Toyota head office declined, knowing that the company and its customers would be in the “good hands of Metrobank.”

Since then, both Doctors Toyoda and Ty have passed to the Great Beyond, but their happy partnership rooted in absolute trust, honor, integrity, and hard work is continued by their heirs, with sons Akio Toyoda and Alfred Ty, taking the helm as chairpersons of their respective companies.

TO CELEBRATE THE 35th ANNIVERSARY OF TOYOTA PHILIPPINES at the Grand Hyatt days ago, chairperson Akio flew to Manila. A polished and elegant speaker, he owned the stage, strolled around it, ignored the rostrum, and began his well-applauded talk in impeccable English with an unexpected tribute to a well-loved Philippine food star: “Hello! Kamusta! It is so wonderful to be back here again! As soon as I got here, I went straight to my favorite place … Jollibee! I mean, where else but here, can you get fried chicken and spaghetti … in the same place?!”

After that blockbuster greeting with a huge video screen showing him gorging on his favorite Chickenjoy and sweet spaghetti, he turned formal and continued, “It really is an honor to be here, and I want to thank all of you for joining us. Earlier today, I had the great pleasure of taking His Excellency, President Marcos, on a tour of our factory in Santa Rosa. We, at Toyota, are extremely grateful for the support, wisdom, and guidance that we receive from President Marcos. And I know this great country is in the best possible hands with his leadership. So, we offer him our deepest thanks for making this 35th anniversary of ours possible!”

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) chair Alfred was no less poised; he projected confidence, strength, and humility as he elucidated, “We began as a humble start-up back in 1988. Sometime 1985-1986, my father and TMP founding chair—Dr. George Ty—was invited by Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda to be the distributor for the Philippines. Frankly, he was hesitant and concerned about how we could contribute to our partnership with Toyota since we had no experience in the automotive field. Thanks to the support of the pioneer team, some of whom are still with us today, they tackled challenges one at a time … and the rest, as they say, is history.”

He added that TMP started in 1988 with 20 employees (4,000 now) and since then produced 1.03 million units, delivered a cumulative total of 2.24 million units, invested P73.7 billion, paid duties and taxes of P448 billion, and exported $18.76 billion worth of auto parts and components.

Then, he concluded, “35 years ago, we established [TMP], a company wholly committed to improving the lives of Filipinos through the business of manufacturing and selling automobiles. Many things have changed since, but the philosophy established by our founders … of #1 in Quality and #1 in Customer Service will always remain the same.”

PRESIDENT MARCOS TOURED THE TMP PLANT IN SANTA ROSA, LAGUNA in the morning, and in turn, First Lady Liza Marcos attended the Grand Hyatt reception in the evening. Typical of her low-profile entrances, she unobtrusively appeared on the stage only for photo ops, and later, to view the prototype of the new Toyota Tamaraw multipurpose vehicle to be produced here in 2024. After the formal program (where she opted not to speak), she gamely chitchatted, and posed for souvenir shots, with the teeming guests. A real charmer, the FL. And an accomplished compañera, too.

I am truly impressed by the durable and reliable Toyota vehicles. During the last 60 years, I have enjoyed driving and riding them, from the Corolla, Corona, and Crown of old to the newer Camry (my official car as CJ), Hiace, Innova, Lexus RX350, and my present favorite, the senior-friendly Alphard.

The Toyota partnership in our country was carved in granite not only between two companies but also between two families that mutually believe in and practice absolute trust, honor, integrity, hard work, transparency, and accountability. May their tribe increase!

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