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THIS was
the mother of all nights. I’m sure that was how
Toyota’s top guns described the affair on the momentous,
wind-swept evening of October 11.
Alfred
Ty, vice chairman of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP),
trim and lean, was dashingly handsome as usual in his
dark suit. Hiroshi Ito, president of TMP, spectacles
and all, also looked dapper in his charcoal-black
coat-and-tie. Antonio Abacan, the chairman of Metrobank,
was in his usual humility and amiable mien, as he kept
bowing to people whom he either had crossed paths with
or seen smiling at him from afar. Vince Socco, senior
vice president of Toyota Motor Asia-Pacific, in his
trademark ear-to-ear grin almost all evening,
embellished his well-knit, Armani-looking coat with a
resplendent yellow tie. Dexter Pasion, president of
Toyota Financial Services, is tall, dark and handsome
with a coat matched elegantly by a similarly bright
yellow tie. Elegantly clothed, too, were Sonny Guerrero,
the senior vice president for TMP marketing division,
and Raymond Rodriguez, vice president for TMP vehicle
sales department. And Kenji Nakashima, TMP executive
vice president, who was a knockout with his barong
Tagalog, provided some comic relief when the master of
ceremonies (a voice-over really) mispronounced his name.
“I am
not Kenji Tekijita,” he said. “I am Kenji Nakashima.”
For that
straightforward stance, he got a round of applause.
There
were more great
Toyota guys around and bigwigs from high society, but this night
was, indeed,
Toyota’s.
The car giant bashed in the specter of a milestone—that
of achieving its 500,000th sale of a Toyota vehicle only
a while back. It shared this yet another glorious
moment with its friends and supporters who packed the
posh One Esplanade in Pasay City—a habit Toyota had been
happily observing on such occasions like this for nearly
two decades now.
No other
car company in the country has hit the half-million mark
in vehicle sales. Toyota has achieved that feat after 19
years in the business—another testament to the firm’s
enduring legacy as the industry leader for 17 years
since TMP went full blast in 1989.
“If we
include the years when Toyota was still under TMP’s
predecessor, Delta Motors, it’d be safe to say we could
have already sold maybe about 750,000,” said Jing
Atienza, the TMP vice president for vehicle sales
department, marketing division.
Toyota’s
resurrection actually came in 1988, when TMP was formed
through shareholders Metrobank, Toyota Motor Corp. and
Mitsui & Co. Ltd. A year later, operations began.
As
Alfred Ty so eloquently said in his speech this
particular night, “In 1988 Toyota dreamed of becoming
the biggest car company in the country. In the last 19
years, we have seen
Toyota
struggle to realize that dream. Now we celebrate it
with 500,000 vehicles sold.”
He said
it was “no small accomplishment, even for one of the
world’s largest car manufacturers.”
And
Alfred profusely thanked the people who made possible
this latest feat of Toyota by saying, “As we celebrate
this milestone, we want to express our sincerest
gratitude to the hundreds and thousands of Filipinos who
have given us their trust and confidence.”
Also
graphically emphasized in the affair was Toyota’s
enormous contribution to the growth of the Philippine
economy, pouring into it over P20 billion in nearly two
decades.
Ito
elucidated it most by saying, “Each vehicle represents
the optimism for a more progressive Philippine economy.
Over the past 19 years, we have invested over P20
billion, contributed more than P70 billion in duties and
tax revenues, created jobs for over 12,000 employees for
the whole Toyota Group, and generated over $3.5 billion
in parts export.”
Toyota’s
famous slogan of “The Toyota Way” can be further gleaned
from Ito’s speech. He said: “Our customers inspire us
to achieve greater milestones—to surpass 17 years of
market dominance…. To maintain the highest level of
customer service in all of 26 outlets nationwide.… To
constantly improve and widen our current lineup of 13
products. Our dealer network strives to serve better,
expand further so that we can be closer to our
customers. Because the things they value most in life
are at the heart of our vehicles, of our operation.”
With
another milestone achieved through the 500,000th vehicle
sale, Toyota, this night of nights, has promised to pave
more roads designed for developing more innovative
technologies.
“The
500,000 sales milestone celebration is just the
beginning,” said Ito. “As we remain dedicated to
building a better future for people, society and the
planet we live in, you can continue to count on us to
strive harder to take you from where you are, to where
you want to be. For every Toyota vehicle sold in the
days and years to come, we will be giving the same
passion in every single one of our products, one
customer at a time.”
In
offering a toast to
Toyota’s guests this evening, Ty said: “More than just a
celebration of sales figures, this is a celebration that
dreams can be achieved. Allow us to dream of something
bigger, something more powerful than what we have set 19
years ago. Tonight we envision that every
Toyota
vehicle sold will see customers through their own
milestones and help them realize their own dreams of a
brighter future, of a better life.”
Already
the winner of an unprecedented seventh “Triple Crown
Affair” in 2006 after selling a combined 38,258 units
that year and virtually sweeping the three vehicle
categories for a whopping 38.4-percent market share,
Toyota appears headed anew to more stunning victories at
the end of 2007.
Really,
when it pours, it rains. |
