EARLY last year, Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) introduced their new company president who would take the helm of the company. After realizing a huge potential for IPC to lead the local truck market, Isuzu Motors Ltd. (IML) appointed Hajime Koso to the position.
Apart from his 35-year solid experience on sales and overseas operations, Koso has an extensive background in selling trucks, which made him the best man for the job.
“In the last 20 years since IPC was established, we were focusing more on the light commercial vehicles (LCV) like the Crosswind and D-Max. That is why many second-hand trucks from Japan were being sold here while the demand on brand-new trucks was much less. We are No. 1 in terms of market share, but the size was insignificant and IML plans to greatly increase that in the future. So this was the main reason as to why our company sent me here,” Koso revealed.
As the new IPC president, Koso stands by his three simple, yet profound, main tasks, namely, share or spread one vision; settle our target; and keep up with everybody. This may seem straightforward but Koso further expounded by presenting a clear illustration of his own structured vision. It represents the IPC organization, dealerships and suppliers as one with the different Isuzu vehicle segments as the pillars while the bottom part symbolizes a strong foundation to support the after-sales services. “This is my vision [showing the diagram]. I want to make sure that all our employees and dealerships share the same vision with me. Next is to settle our targets by not only focusing mainly on sales but also the after-sales part. And last, is to keep up with everybody not only with our employees but also the dealerships,” he explained. “Whenever I have time, I would go and visit our dealerships even without a scheduled appointment just to talk to the branch managers and people in charge with parts,” he added.
Last year also saw IPC attained an increasing trend in terms of vehicle unit sales. However, this feat created a hurdle, not only for Koso, but also for their entire network to keep up with the trades. “There are two things and one of those is hardware. So my mission is to convince the dealerships to invest more on the after-sales facilities, particularly the service areas, to accommodate more customers. I am confident that our dealerships will be able to achieve this. The other one is software, which is our people, particularly our service technicians. They are very good in servicing our LCV models, but recently, since the demands of used and brand new trucks have increased, we now need to train more technicians for the job,” Koso said. Fortunately, IML stepped in to assist. It established the Isuzu Global Service Corp. last year which opened a new training facility.
When IPC attained the top spot in terms of trucks unit sales in all categories, Koso knew that he finally accomplished something significant. “When I came here, sales performance for the light to medium sized trucks categories were successful. But in terms of the heavy-duty category, we were not doing well. So sometime mid-last year was when we started shifting our focus on training and even parts availability to support our dealerships,” Koso recalled. Another solution that IPC fulfilled was the outright availability of heavy-duty trucks in their motor pool to meet the exigency. Likewise, Koso witnessed how the local motoring media work closely with the manufacturers, which provides an opportunity to bridge the gap for the consumer. “Because back in Indonesia and Japan, I didn’t experience any media interview, media drive events and the likes,” he added.
Currently, IPC has 21 full dealerships, including 14 branches/satellites in the country, with two more on its way and plans to open another five by next year.
“Aside from opening new dealerships, we are also focusing on renovating our existing showrooms to expand the servicing facilities, in order to accommodate the demands for our big-truck segments, as well as to serve a more comfortable space for our customers,” Koso explained.
Aside from the success of truck sales, IPC also relishes the phenomenal achievement of the mu-X with more than 11,000 units sold since its introduction in September 2014. And in order to sustain this, their dealerships follow strict guidelines patterned after those in Japan and adapted them locally to certify sales personnel through Isuzu’s Sales Executive Accreditation Program. On the other hand, service technicians go through the Isuzu Service Program.
Now that the country has a new elected President, IPC intends to support the administration’s policies involving the automotive industry. But there is one particular fact about the new head of state that delighted Koso. “We felt honored when we found out in the news that President Duterte actually drives and maintains an Isuzu pick-up. We hope that he’ll continue to use it,” he said.
On the Philippine government’s capacity to help the automotive industry, IPC is hoping for some amendments to be made in the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program’s implementing rules and regulations when it comes to the volume requirement. “We wanted to join and continue our production here in the country, but unfortunately, volume wise, we don’t have that capacity to commit like the other big players. However, if the government will make some adjustments, we would like to apply for them,” Koso said. In the meantime, IPC aims to contribute 24,000 units from the industry’s goal of 350,000 in quantity.
“We expect to sell around 11,000 units of mu-X this year, which I think is attainable. It will be assisted by the sales target from our trucks and buses of around 5,300 units. Going back to my vision, I would like to bring the margin close to even at 50 percent each for I’m confident because our sales performance is stable and IPC is doing well in the business,” he added. And to match these objectives, IPC’s game-changing strategy is to heavily rely on their excellent after-sales service.
While Koso has only been president of IPC in a little over a year, he already has memories that he will cherish forever. “Personally, I would always remember the media drive events. From the Mount Pulag hike to experiencing the beautiful beach of Coron, Palawan. In fact, I already took my wife to El Nido after seeing Coron,” he shared. Koso loves to surf as much as he loves to play golf during his free time. “I really enjoy working here in the country, particularly with the Filipinos. Also, I had the opportunity to meet other people in the company, dealerships, and especially the customers,” he added.
Image credits: Randy S. Peregrino