It was a good year

It was indeed a good year for both Toyota Motor Philippines and JTI Philippines as they celebrated with the media in separate parties last Friday to mark their success in 2024.

TMP chairman Alfred Ty, at the TMP party held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, proudly announced that the country’s leading automaker had posted an all-time-high vehicle sales of 474,000 units last year, an eight percent increase from its previous record-high sales in 2017 of 473,000 units.

With its 2024 sales performance, TMP is projecting even higher sales of 512,000 units for this year. But more than the higher sales numbers, Ty cited TMP’s contribution to the local economy with its tax payments amounting to around P35 billion and $1 billion in exports.

TMP’s sales for both its Toyota and luxury brand Lexus recorded an all-time high of 218,019 units that, according to Ty, marks 23 consecutive years of the company’s Triple Crown. He pointed out that the Philippines remains among the 10 largest markets for Toyota worldwide. More importantly, he said, “It helped us secure jobs for over 69,000 Filipinos in 2024, realize over $1 billion in exports for the country and contribute P35 billion to government revenues.”

Ty elaborated that the new record posted by the company “is much more than a set of numbers. To me, it represents a nation and a people on the move. The increased sales mean increased mobility for Filipinos – moving people, goods and services across the country. It reflects a growing and vibrant economy. Increased car sales also mean more jobs, more revenue for the government, more investments for the country, more know-how transfer and more exports.”

The TMP chairman also expressed optimism that as the Philippine auto market continues to expand, “I am very much encouraged by the added possibilities this growth brings with it. The auto industry is truly transforming into a major pillar of economic development. To be honest, the rapid and significant influx of automakers and brands is a very welcome indicator for me. I have always said that the one thing that attracts automakers the most to any market is increasing sales volumes. And as motorization progresses, this opens new opportunities for local manufacturing. I am a very strong advocate of ‘Gawa ng Filipino para sa Filipino,’ so this is a very welcome prospect for nation-building.”

Furthermore, Ty expressed his view that the automotive industry should be viewed as one cohesive sector contributing to nation-building, citing the combined sales of CAMPI, TMA, AVID and some EVIDA players, which total 474,000 units from 12 motor vehicle manufacturers and assemblers, with up to 60 brands and more than 400 models on the road.

Based on his estimate, Ty said that total vehicle sales generated up to P70 billion in taxes and 138,000 direct and indirect jobs supplying parts or business services to the auto sector.

He added that the prospects for the industry are quite encouraging, with the macro outlook reasonably optimistic as GDP is expected to exceed six percent. The financial sector, he continued, “remains sound with a growing consumer loan portfolio. OFW remittances and BPO earnings are seen to expand, the exchange rate is relatively under control by the Central Bank, government infrastructure spending is expected to continue, and election-related spending will trigger incremental economic demand. As a result, we are projecting sales to grow to over 500,000 units – half a million new cars – 512,000 units to be exact – representing a sustained growth of eight percent.”

JTI welcomes new executives

JTI Philippines last Friday celebrated the Chinese New Year at the Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas to celebrate in a big way and introduce its two new executives: Guilherme Silva, who replaces John Freda as the company’s new general manager and Shaiful Mahpar as the new corporate affairs and communications director based in Manila.

Freda has been reassigned to Spain and is now the new general manager of the Iberia market cluster based in Madrid.

As for Silva, it is actually his second posting in the Philippines; he was previously assigned in the country as JTI’s marketing director in 2011. He has since held various leadership roles across other JTI markets—as head of JTI Cambodia in 2014, GM of JTI Malaysia in 2016, marketing and sales vice president of the Western Europe Region in 2018, and, most recently, GM of the Iberia cluster, covering Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Andorra and Gibraltar since 2020.

Shaiful will be responsible for leading and managing the corporate affairs and communications function of JTI Philippines’ market and factory. He joined JTI Malaysia in 2021 as corporate affairs and communications director, where he was responsible for the promotion of reasonable tax policies, sensible tobacco product regulations, anti-illicit trade policies, internal and external communications and community investment initiatives.

Before joining JTI, he held market and regional corporate affairs roles with JUUL Labs, PepsiCo, Grab and BAT. Prior to that, he was with the Securities Commission of Malaysia. Shaiful started his career as a lawyer in Kuala Lumpur. He studied law at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England and gained admission as a barrister to the Bar of England and Wales, as well as the Malaysian Bar.

Shaiful replaces Mildred Sabarre, who is retiring after her long career with JTI and the industry.

The JTI party also took the opportunity to showcase its entry into the reduced-risk products category with its heated tobacco product Ploom and nicotine pouches Nordic Spirit, thus expanding its market presence and providing adult Filipino smokers with innovative and high-quality choices to satisfy their needs.

Silva noted that the Philippines is “a dynamic market where JTI is now the country’s fastest-growing tobacco company in terms of market share. I look forward to seeing how we continue to grow our portfolio and business through product innovation and consumer-centric programs.”

He praised JTI Philippines for its continued recognition since 2022 as a Top Employer and for being the first company in the country to earn EY’s Global Equality Standard certificate.

JTI Philippines is a global tobacco company with close to 40 branch offices across the country. It is the distributor of international brands Winston, Camel, Mevius, LD and local brands Mighty and Marvels.

New to its Philippine portfolio is its smoke-free, vapor-free nicotine product, Nordic Spirit, which is a leading brand of nicotine pouches, and more recently, the introduction of Ploom X Advanced, an innovative heated tobacco product that combines high-end technology with an award-winning, sleek and stylish design.