Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) introduced Mr. Satoru Suzuki as its new president, succeeding Mr. Michinobu Sugata, during a formal ceremony at the Rizal Ballroom, Makati Shangri-La Manila last Wednesday,January 13, 2016.
Sugata led TMP with a sterling performance during his six-year term from 2010 to 2015. Under his leadership, Toyota maintained market dominance as evidenced by record-breaking sales year after year. Among the significant sales milestones achieved during Sugata’s stint is the 100- thousand annual unit sales in 2014, making it to the Global Toyota 100K Club. And in 2015, TMP reached its 1-Million sales milestone and successfully achieved its 14th consecutive Triple Crown. Moreover, Sugata is also remarkably known for revitalizing the Philippine Motorsports through the Toyota Vios Cup.
Outgoing TMP president Mr. Michinobu Sugata giving his farewell speech
On another note, Toyota Motor Corporation managing officer and CEO of Asia, Middle East, and North Africa Regions Kyoichi Tanada congratulated TMP for achieving another new sales record of over 125 thousand units in 2015, ranking 4th in Asia and 13th in Global Toyota. “This outstanding performance has contributed significantly to Team Asia Toyota,” Tanada said. Likewise, he lauded the implementation of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS Program) of the Philippine government in which TMP is expected to actively participate to further boost the competitiveness of the local auto manufacturing industry in the country.
During this era of great accomplishments for TMP, taking on the helm of the company’s leadership is a welcome challenge for Suzuki saying, “It is with great pleasure once again to join Team Toyota Philippines after 16 years. I am eager to build strong partnerships with you in the coming days because I firmly believe that with your firm support, we can all make a positive change to usher the country towards becoming a key player in the regional automotive scene.”
TMP’s new president Mr. Satoru Suzuki
Suzuki had his first tour of duty in TMP back in 1997-1999 as Marketing vice president in charge of Sales and Product Planning operations. After his 3-year stint, he joined Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) in Singapore, where he took charge of the Philippine and Thailand markets. Then, he went back to Japan to handle project-related issues such as plant expansion and new model introductions for Asian countries. Before finally coming back to TMP as the new president, he was responsible for all sales-related issues in Asia, in both TMAP-Japan and TMAP-Singapore.