Toyota Philippines

What makes Toyota such a good car and car brand?

Three words: Reliability, durability, quality. You can own a Toyota forever and it will run for miles and miles and miles.

There is a fourth reason, in the case of the Philippines. Toyota in the Philippines is owned and managed by the family of the late George SK Ty.

His sons, Arthur, 56, the chair of Metrobank, and Alfred, 55, the chair of Toyota Motor Philippines, have kept true to the values George Ty lived by throughout his entrepreneurial life – discipline, hard work, concern for the community, trust.

Trust. When you buy a Toyota, you know it’s reliable, durable, of good quality. Service is good. And the vehicle is reasonably priced. The Tys do not overcharge their customers. Arthur’s Metrobank is among the kindest banks I know and deal with. It is not a parusa (penalty) bank.

I own a Toyota Lexus Land Cruiser, an LX 470, which I bought with my Asiaweek retirement money in 2000. The LX 470 is still with me, in good looking and running condition. It is a gas guzzler though. A full tank will barely bring you to Baguio.

Since 1970, I have test-driven or owned a few brands and models of vehicles: GMs, Volkswagens, Fords, Mazda, Nissans, Hondas, Land Rover Discovery, Benz and BMWs, the 3 and 5 series and EV. All are a notch or several notches below in reliability and durability, to Toyota. Often, the most expensive cars are the most unreliable.  Price is not an indicator of quality. In fact, the most unreliable car brand is the most expensive.

In the 2022 Consumer Reports (CR) reliability rankings, the Top Three in reliability are: Toyota, Lexus and BMW.

Every year, CR asks its members about problems they’ve had with their vehicles in the previous 12 months. In 2022, it gathered data on over 300,000 vehicles, from the 2000 to 2022 model years (with a few early-introduced 2023 model years), that address 17 trouble areas, including engine, transmission, in-car electronics and more. CR then gives reliability ratings for every major mainstream model.

The most number of cars I have owned are Toyotas – Vios, Corolla, Grandia, Grandia Elite, Hi Ace, LX 450, Land Cruiser and a Lexus LM 350.  However, in driving dynamics, in conquest of man over machine, no car can beat the BMW.

President Bongbong Marcos Jr. visited Toyota’s vast manufacturing hub at the Toyota Special Economic Zone in Santa Rosa City, Laguna, on Aug. 22, 2023. It was the 35th anniversary of Toyota Philippines under the stewardship of the Tys. BBM also received the keys to 35 vehicles donated by TMP, personally given by Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan chair Akio Toyoda and TMP chair Alfred Ty.

“It is a very important day not only because we have to recognize the contributions that Toyota Motor Corporation has brought to the Philippines,” enthused the President. We have to recognize the help that it has given – that this plant such as this has given us and our people. Makita mo ang magandang – ‘yung mga tao natin, our Filipino employees who have come to work with Toyota have been – are very highly trained, are also extremely steeped in the Japanese culture of production which is very important because they have shown themselves to be one of the most if not the most efficient when it comes to manufacturing and high volume production of products.”

Looking at the future, Marcos noted, “we have always seen Toyota as being an important partner in everything, in our development in the Philippines. And now especially in these difficult times, these are the partnerships that we think – that I am certain will be of benefit not only to the Philippines but also to Toyota and even for our partners in Japan.”

In response, Alfred Ty related Toyota’s success story:

“From a modest start-up of about 20 people in 1988, we have grown into a major hub for Toyota, with a cumulative group investment of P73.7 billion, payment of P448 billion in duties and taxes and exports of automotive parts and components worth $18.76 billion. We have grown into a major base for Toyota.”

“Going forward, we believe that protecting the Philippines’ automotive industry, including parts production, is the only way to protect jobs and livelihoods in this country, and we have asked the President for his continued support for the entire supply chain,” Ty said.

Team Toyota Philippines employs 71,000.

For his part, Akio Toyoda, 67, son of the Toyota founder, said, “The Ty family and Toyota started business in the Philippines in 1988, and thanks to the support of the government and the people of the Philippines, we are celebrating our 35th anniversary this year.”

Toyoda announced the local “assembly of the IMV 0, which was made possible by strength built through 20 years of transmission production.”

“We hope that IMV 0 will be a game changer that changes how cars are used and create new opportunities as well as open the door to the future. I believe that this will in turn drive Toyota’s transformation into a mobility company,” Toyoda said.

“The President continually asked us what help they could offer. The private sector or the government alone cannot build the future,” the world’s Toyota chieftain said.

“I am deeply honored that we both believed that we could share our thoughts to make each other smile for the future, including the livelihood, employment and investment of the Filipino people,” Toyoda concluded.

At the glittering 35th anniversary event that evening at the Hyatt, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos was the guest of honor, with Toyoda and the Tys as hosts. “He (BBM) takes care of the economy, I take care of the socials,” LAM joked to me.

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