It’s official: 2012 is Toyota’s best year ever in PH

There are still about a dozen days left before 2012 officially becomes history but the country’s leading automotive firm, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), is already in a celebratory mood. With December sales yet to be added, the country’s top automotive firm has already surpassed its 2011 overall sales mark and even its all-time tally.

Based on the January-November Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines report, TMP already sold a total of 58,890 units (including its luxury brand Lexus) eclipsing the 54,593 total units it sold last year or even the 56,855 total units it sold in 2010.

This feat enabled TMP to capture a 34.6-percent market share.

“Throughout this year, TMP has achieved several milestones. (Based on the record that does not yet include December sales,) we have experienced our highest yearly sales record in just 11 months. We are very happy as this is a clear sign that our customers continue to trust our ability to deliver the best products and services possible. On behalf of TMP, I would like to thank the Filipino people for trusting us for nearly 25 years. The support they have shown us is what drives us to move forward and serve them even better,” announced TMP president Michinobu Sugata.

‘11th Triple Crown’

This also means that TMP is on its way to achieving its 11th Triple Crown. The triple crown is bestowed on the local auto manufacturer that ends the year having the No. 1 spot in overall sales, in passenger car (PC) sales and in commercial vehicle (CV) sales—a feat that TMP has held since 2002.

This early, TMP currently holds the top spot in the country’s PC segment with a 30.8-percent market share, as well as in the CV segment with a 36.8-percent market share.

TMP first vice president for marketing Raymond Rodriguez shared that the November 2012 sales played a key role in the company’s success as it posted a growth of 9 percent from the same period of last year.

5,740 units

“Toyota registered 5,740 units last month enabling us to maintain the top spot in both the PC and CV segments. The Toyota Vios continues to be the best-selling vehicle in the country while the Toyota Innova remains to be the most preferred commercial vehicle. Likewise, the Toyota Fortuner continues its strong performance and ended the month of November as the best-selling SUV in the country once again,” informed Rodriquez.

In September, TMP beefed up its Vios selection by introducing three locally manufactured (Santa Rosa City, Laguna, plant) variants: TRD edition of the 1.5-liter Vios, manual variant of the 1.3-liter G, and the beefed up 1.3-liter J limited.

In February this year, TMP introduced an updated Innova (also locally manufactured), the company’s best-selling multipurpose vehicle, which for over six years has dominated the country’s CV segment with over 70,000 units in cumulative sales as of 2011.

Much improved

Moreover, TMP in September also rolled out improved variants of the current Fortuner SUV.

Both 4X4 V and 4X2 G (manual and automatic) variants of the improved Fortuner are equipped with a new 2.5-liter diesel engine that features Toyota’s advanced Variable Nozzle Turbocharger technology with inter-cooler. This enables the improved Fortuner to exhibit a much better fuel efficiency as well as a 40-percent additional engine power (144-horsepower) and 30 percent higher torque (343 Nm).

These updated models as well as having beefed up a selection of variants enabled TMP to weather the supply limitation brought about by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan (which was followed by a nuclear crisis and nationwide shortage of electricity), and disastrous flooding in Thailand.

Both countries are home to a number of automotive parts and electronic makers that play a critical role in Toyota’s global supply chain.