Toyota bullish to hit target production despite recalls Grace

CEBU, Philippines - Even with the recall of its Prius hybrid cars worldwide, the Japanese carmaker giant Toyota Motors remains bullish to hit its target vehicle production this year given the robust sales performance last year.

The Tokyo-based company announced last week that it recalled 1.9 million Prius cars across the world due to a problem with its software used to control the power converter that might cause the vehicle to slow down.

While there were more than 400 cases from the said technical fault, no accidents were reported due to the defect.

Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. (TMPC) first vice president Luis Marcelino said that 60 Prius units have been recalled in Cebu.

Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation, Inc. president David Go, however, said that the recent mass recall did not affect the overall performance and reputation of the car company.

He added that the world's biggest automotive manufacturer, grounded by its strong Toyota philosophy, considered the recall of Prius cars as an opportunity to improve their products further.

“It is not a major problem. It was more on a technical issue that we have to address. The recall helps us strengthen ourselves from our weaknesses,” he said.

He said that at present, the market considers having a car as a necessity rather than a luxury unlike the past years.

“As more units are being developed, the market becomes bigger. It is no longer a luxury,” he said.

He added that the improved economic performance of the country creates a trickledown effect to the growth of both the industry and market.

Go also said that the construction and renovation of roads by the government is also a good indicator of a positive development for the automotive sector.

In an earlier statement, the carmaker reported that it sold 75,587 locally-produced and imported units nationwide last year.

Marcelino cited that it posted an increase of more than 10 percent compared in the 2012 performance. He added that around 25 percent of which were being produced for the Cebu market.

“Visayas is doing very good specifically Cebu. It is an important market for us,” he said.

He further shared that Toyota aims to reach 90,000 sales this 2014.

Toyota Motors also recently announced that it started strong this year by selling 7,062 units in January. This is reportedly more than the 4,716 vehicles sold in the same month last year.

The Innova and Vios models which are both assembled in the Philippines lead the strong performance this month. Fortuner also accounted a contribution to such growth by hitting a monthly sales record of 1,623 units.

In the yearend summary of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), Toyota Motors was hailed as the top performer in 2013. It accounted 41 percent of the total market share which is then trailed by Mitsubishi with a quarter of the market.  

On the other hand, Honda, Ford, and Isuzu followed with 7.37 percent, 7.33 percent, and 6.5 percent share respectively.

Overall, CAMPI and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) registered a 16-percent increase or 181,283 units sold last year.

Further, CAMPI estimates the total vehicle sales for the industry, including non-CAMPI and non-TMA members, to hit at 230 000 from over 210 000 units last year.

Go cited that Toyota Motors is confident to grow with the market, thus planning to launch more products at reasonable prices within this year.

TMCP is set to launch its newest vehicle, the Wigo, in Cebu today. (FREEMAN)