WHY TOYOTA CONTINUES TO DOMINATE
Mention Michael Jordan, Lebron James or Kobe Bryant and the phrase “Greatest of All Time” immediately comes to mind. Basically, they’re one of the ‘most awe-inspiring’ to ever do it in the whole history of the game–if not the greatest.
Now, if we talk about cars, one brand is likewise instantly top of mind: Toyota. And we’re not just talking about the local automotive scene. Today, they’re even the “greatest” on the world stage. In fact, in 2024, Toyota sold 10.8 million cars worldwide and the auto giant has been keeping that same crown for five consecutive years already.
Locally, Toyota Motor Philippines has been more impressive, chalking up the boards for 23 years in a row now. This means that the company has been number one in overall vehicles, passenger cars (PC) and commercial vehicles (CV) sales ever since eons ago, or perhaps even ever since this writer first set foot on this motoring realm as a working-student back in college.
Last year, TMP churned out 218,019 vehicles sold, accounting for both Toyota and Lexus cars or a nine-percent growth compared to its performance in 2023. The vehicles’ Triple Crown included 63,007 vehicles sold in the PC segment or a 52.08-percent share; and 155,012 vehicles sold in the CV segment (or a 44-percent share).
“This is because we produce the best cars. They’re durable, reliable, easy to fix, cheaper to maintain, and has one of the highest resale values in the market,” newly-elected Toyota Dealers Association of the Philippines (TDAP) president, Jimmy Yaokasin, proudly replied when asked about how the brand has been number one in the country for this long during an exclusive interview with Inquirer Motoring.
“Plus, we have the widest dealer network in the country. Almost every province in the country has an existing Toyota dealership which can service the existing customers,” added the freshly-minted association head honcho who only took on the role last December 2024.
“Kahit saan ka magpa-service pare-pareho lang yung quality.”
Committed to the same quality of products and services
TMP has more than 70 dealerships in the country and according to Yaokasin, who likewise owns and operates the Toyota dealership in Tacloban City, Leyte, their mandate is to continuously improve operational efficiency for their clients’ benefits.
For him, TDAP, now in its 33rd year, was established to bring every Toyota member together to unite the dealerships into helping each other improve by sharing best practices in the different operational departments. As of July last year, Toyota’s manpower in the country was already composed of almost 4,000 Toyota team members.
“It also serves as a coordinating body in the distribution and servicing of the clients, so that they can go to any dealership all over the country and expect the same quality of service and to make it convenient to the clients by allowing inter-dealer communication and transactions for their benefit,” he continued.
“Meaning, you can buy from one dealership, and then have it serviced anywhere in the Philippines while enjoying the same price and promos.”
Tried-and-true leadership
Yaokasin, despite having only worn his new hat just recently, is a tried-and-true leader. Prior to the elected post, the 56-year-old businessman used to be a Commissioner of the National Youth Commission; erstwhile likewise serving the government as Chairman of the Development Academy of the Philippines under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
His family has also been running businesses in Tacloban for more than 100 years already, particularly trading kopra.
As a Toyota dealer principal, meanwhile, he has been running it for 12 years already, having only opened in April of 2013, seven months before the tragedy of Yolanda happened, which brought unspeakable death and devastation to countless of Leyteños during that time.
“By God’s grace, ours is one of the biggest structures that survived Yolanda,” he divulged.
“So, exactly one month right after Yolanda happened, nag-service na kami agad.”
He furthermore shared that since they felt that there was an immediate need for mobility, despite the horrors of the calamity’s aftermath, particularly in their area that time, they strived to open right away.
“Hindi naman pwedeng naglalakad sila araw-araw,” he strongly justified.
Continuous improvement
Moreover, for 12 years, their Tacloban City dealership has been delivering excellent services and customer experiences to the people of Leyte.
“We sell the total customer experience.
We always put the customer first,” he articulated.
According to him, they always seek ways to continuously improve through customer feedback by conducting frequent surveys.
“We listen to our customers and immediately address their concerns.”
Community-building for future generations
In addition, Yaokasin also added that aside from unifying the various different dealers in the country, supporting each other and striving to continuously improve their services, they ought to also contribute in building their communities.
“We do this through corporate social responsibility projects,” he said.
In their own dealership, for example, they have already donated patrol vehicles, conducted coastal cleanups, tree-planting activities, and visits to home for the aged, as well as invested in scholarship programs.
“Our company believes we do this not just to look good but we see this as an investment for the future.”
Furthermore, he encourages every member of his manpower, as well as business and social circles to be involved in the community.
“In fact, we encourage the second generation to spearhead the CSR projects, mga anak namin,” he fondly shared.
“Kapag ganon kasi may impact, may bigat.”
Actually, one of his biggest plans in the pipeline for the association, he explained, was to have one big CSR project for all the dealerships.
“This would be a fun and meaningful way to give back to the community all together.”
Stewardship
As a leader, this passionate head honcho likewise reiterated the essence of stewardship in line with creating more stewards.
“We aim to pursue the education and training of our next-generation manpower for them to be able to take on leadership roles in their respective dealerships.”
Additionally, they also aim to have more wide ranging discussions among themselves and with TMP with the aim of finding mobility solutions for the general public to ensure that their needs are heard and are met with the most cost-efficient and effective outcomes.
“It all boils down to how we can improve ourselves to serve our customers better,” he said.
In a nutshell, just like what 11-time NBA champion coach, Phil Jackson, once shared in a team huddle, saying: “The strength of a team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team,” the association’s 72-strong dealership network nationwide depends on one another to give Filipinos the best Toyota can offer.
“Ultimately, our aim is to give every family in the Philippines a Toyota experience. Give them the best since Toyota is the best,” Yaokasin then concluded.
