@Toyota: Toyota Motor Philippines Marks 35th Anniversary

Full text of TMC Chairman Toyoda’s speech

Hello! Ku-mu-STA! 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?!

But seriously, 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!

I must tell you how very important the Philippines is to us at Toyota because even though it may not be the biggest country, your sales volume is actually Toyota’s 10th highest in the entire world which is pretty amazing if you ask me! In fact, Toyota seems to be as popular here as basketball and BTS! I’d like to congratulate Chairman Ty and the entire team for the record-breaking year Toyota Philippines is currently having and of course, for the tremendous progress you’ve made over the last 35 years. Thank you, Alfred.

I really am so proud of this team, and frankly, of this country. It’s why we made the decision in 2008 to increase our production of IMV transmissions here in the Philippines and export them to the rest of Asia. I’m happy to say, that since 1992, Toyota Philippines has produced over 6.5 million transmissions at an export value of $2.9 billion dollars which is equal to 200 thousand units of CBU vehicles. This strategic decision to focus on transmissions and parts exports, rather than final assembly, has worked to our advantage, I think. It is what has allowed us to be successful here, unlike some of our competitors.

Personally, I believe that we need to come together, as an industry to develop local suppliers, here in the Philippines. Because even though we currently enjoy a 50% market share here, Toyota unfortunately, cannot develop a local supply chain alone, especially when you consider that roughly 75% of a vehicle comes from parts suppliers.

I believe that if other Japanese OEMs worked together for the greater good, we could greatly increase opportunities in the automotive sector here. Because the more competitors we have here in the Philippines, the more local suppliers we will create and the more economies of scale we will gain which is better for us, better for the Philippines and most importantly, better for our customers. As crazy as it may sound, I wouldn’t even care if Toyota’s share of market here decreased. It simply is the right thing to do for this country. So, if any of our competitors are here today, or listening. Give me a call! It has been a privilege to grow and prosper in the Philippines.

But honestly for me, it’s not about how many cars we’ve sold here or whether we’re number one in sales. My greatest wish is simply to be number one in the hearts of our customers here in the Philippines.

Because we want to contribute more to this country than just cars, we want to help foster economic opportunity. This desire to support the Asia Pacific has certainly been my motivation for projects like the IMV, which I had the honor of introducing in 2004, when I was in charge of the ASEAN region.

For me, the IMV launch remains one of the fondest memories of my career. So, I decided to challenge our engineering and design teams to return to the original intent of the IMV and create something truly affordable and truly innovative. Internally we call it the IMV 0 concept. Its official launch is still a year away, but I wanted to share it with all of you today! Take a look at what our Chief Engineer and Head of Design had to say. Today, we’ve brought this new IMV 0 Concept to life for customers here in the Philippines. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the next generation Tamaraw Concept our Pace Car Pick up and Modern PUV Jeepney!

I’d like to thank our IMV team. Please stand and take a bow! I truly believe these are products that can enhance the quality of life for many people and provide new economic opportunities. Because at Toyota we believe people come first. We believe in building cars to serve the real-life needs of our customers. That is why our IMV 0 team spent many months in the field observing the lifestyles and needs of our potential owners. And I’m very pleased to say that in 2024, for the first time ever IMV vehicles such as this next generation Tamaraw, will be produced as CBU’s right here in the Philippines at our Santa Rosa plant!

This represents an additional investment by Toyota of 4.4 billion Philippine pesos. So, when I say I’m committed to the Philippines, you can count on me to put my money where my mouth is, as they like to say in the U.S. Actually, this country reminds me of the U.S. quite a bit. Maybe it’s because you all speak better English than I do but maybe it’s because you have the same optimism and zest for life. And as we move into the next frontier in our industry. I think it’s those that stay creative and optimistic who will succeed. I truly believe there is enormous potential for growth here, from both a business and technology standpoint. In fact, I believe it’s the Philippines that could well become the Silicon Valley of Asia.

But as we create a world of connected vehicles, artificial intelligence, autonomy, electrification, flying cars and more we must always remember that humanity is at the center of it all. The mother, the daughter, the father, the grandmother, the people that we create these new technologies for. Because making people’s lives better and happier is the entire point. And for me it’s the only one that matters.

I think this was instilled in me by my father, Shoichiro Toyoda, who as you may know, recently passed away. He was a great supporter of Toyota Philippines and a great friend of Alfred’s father, Dr. George Ty, who is also no longer with us. Alfred and I have now assumed our father’s titles of Chairman, but I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we intend to reinvent the role and actively guide Toyota, with as much energy and dedication as ever. So, in other words, like it or not neither of us are going anywhere!

Along with our suppliers and partners, I especially want to thank our Filipino customers for supporting us as they have. As we look ahead, I want to assure you that the future of Toyota Philippines is very bright and only going to get brighter.

Ladies and gentlemen, we may not share the same rivers and mountains, but we share the same sun and sky and the same wish for harmony and happiness. So, as we enjoy this special occasion today, let’s make sure to celebrate what matters most: our friendship and our partnership. Because together everything is possible. Thank you very much.

Full text of TMP Chairman Alfred Ty’s speech

Good evening and Welcome to the 35th-year anniversary of Toyota Motor Philippines. Actually, I and Chairman Akio Toyoda just came from Santa Rosa where we had the honor of receiving President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for a visit to our Toyota Santa Rosa Factory―the home of the Toyota Vios and Innova assembly lines and Toyota Aisin’s transmission manufacturing factory. We sincerely thank the President for taking the time to visit us.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me thank you all for accepting our invitation today. We are sincerely grateful for the gift of your time and for being a meaningful part of our history.

Our celebration of our 35th anniversary this year is extra special for me. This year, I received a special loyalty award from TMP in recognition of my 30 years of service. It has really been a very exciting three decades.

Allow me to express my special thanks to the Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, Mr. Akio Toyoda, for joining us this evening. Akio-san, you have always been a very strong beacon of hope and inspiration especially during the covid years. Indeed, you bring light when it is needed most. Maraming salamat po. Arigatou gozaimashita. Thank you for coming. Welcome to this very special evening and welcome to the Grand Hyatt.

Indeed, we are extremely thankful for all the milestones of the past 35 years. And, as exciting as the future might be, we recognize that much of what is yet to come is inspired by the past 35 years. Where do I start?

Well, we began as a humble start-up back in 1988. Frankly, my father and TMP founding Chair―Dr. George Ty―was concerned about how we could contribute to our partnership with Toyota since we had no experience in the automotive field. But this did not stop us. We took up the challenge and the rest, as they say, is history.

From a start-up team of about 20 people, TMP is now close to 4,000-strong. As of mid-year 2023, we have locally produced 1.03 million units, delivered a cumulative total of 2.24 million units to Filipino homes all across the country.

In terms of contributing to the economy, TMP and the Toyota Group have cumulatively invested PHP 73.7 billion (since 2000), paid duties and taxes of PHP 448 billion and exported USD 18.76 billion-worth of auto parts and components (since 1997).

All these milestones could have only been possible because of your support. On behalf of the over 71,000 members in the entire Team Toyota Philippines eco-system―in TMP, our suppliers, dealers and business partners―I would like to sincerely thank all of you.

It has been widely reported on social media how Akio-san brought back the love of cars and the love of driving to Toyota and Lexus. He really loves to drive. His passion is absolutely contagious. It is this passion that motivates us to experience driving each of our models that, in turn, nurtures the Toyota philosophy of always building ever better cars. Thank you, Chairman Akio for continuing to inspire us and for fueling our own passion for driving. Yes, Filipinos love to drive and feel the thrill and freedom of mobility… of course, within allowable speed limits.

In fact, to encourage our members to transition from “stay at home” to “back to the workplace,” we used this very spirit of “FUN TO DRIVE.” It was at the core of our efforts to restart and reenergize our operations post-covid.

Today, on behalf of over 2 million Toyota owners in the Philippines, I want to say to Akio-san, please keep those amazing Toyotas and Lexuses coming and keep showing us the FUN of driving!

The future of mobility that we celebrate today is really very exciting. Toyota’s roadmap to a cleaner, carbon neutral world includes multiple pathways. We believe it begins with hybrid electric vehicles that are fun-to-drive yet helpful in reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency, without the need for a charging infrastructure network. In time, as readiness for full battery electric alternatives matures and car users are more prepared to adapt these new technologies, we will be there for you. Our mission is to provide mobility for all Filipinos based on what fits your needs and your circumstances.

No doubt, electrification is the way to the future. In fact, I am encouraged by the moves of the government to enable a more rapid pace of adoption.

I still cannot believe that it has already been 35 years since TMP started operations. When we opened, TMP committed to a vision of not only building cars but also helping build a nation. Today, as my father did 35 years ago, I am delighted to renew that commitment.

In pursuit of our vision, TMP remains committed to supporting local manufacturing through our partnership with local parts makers, other industry players and, of course, the government. We are also committed to transitioning into a mobility company that aims to meet the rapidly evolving vehicle usage needs of Filipinos including commuters, logistics providers and small and medium businesses through auto leasing programs and digital connected services.

As well, we are constantly on the lookout for new paths and opportunities to harness the strengths of the nation. As you may know, a single car is no longer simply made of physical parts alone. Today, the advancements in microcomputing make software an ever more critical differentiator. As the automotive industry moves towards a higher level of connectivity, operating software is integral to the development and usage of vehicles.

In this regard, we are in discussion to seriously study how we can utilize our large talent base of Filipino IT specialists in developing user applications and mobility software services that are essential to the emerging new generation of cars globally. This will potentially allow us to elevate the value of the Philippines to a higher level in the global automotive supply chain. We are truly excited about this prospect.

In a little while, Chairman Akio will do the honors of introducing to us the Next Generation Tamaraw. I would like to thank Mr. Toyoda for green lighting the investment for the local production of the Next Generation Tamaraw here in the Philippines with thanks, as well, to the Philippine government for their support to revitalize the local automotive manufacturing industry. Chairman Akio confirmed this investment when we met President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in Japan earlier in the year.

The Next Generation Tamaraw represents a whole new range of mobility solutions that will enable Filipinos to move their lives forward. It will enable new levels of flexibility for users, especially our MSMEs.

Ladies and gentlemen, 35 years ago, the late Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, then President of Toyota Motor Corporation invited my father, the late Dr. George S.K. Ty to be a partner in the establishment of Toyota Motor Philippines, a company WHOLLY COMMITTED to improving the lives of Filipinos through the business of manufacturing and selling automobiles. It was a partnership founded on the shared philosophies of mutual trust, understanding, and respect for people.

Today, Dr. Toyoda and Dr. Ty are no longer with us. So tonight, on behalf of Mr. Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, and myself we renew the promise of our fathers to be of service to the Filipino nation―to persist in building ever better cars, continue creating mobility for all and keep winning the smile of every Filipino.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Maraming salamat po. Please enjoy the rest of the evening.