Mr. Satoru Suzuki was introduced as the new president of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMPC) during a formal ceremony at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel on January 13, 2016. Suzuki succeeds the highly successful Mr. Michinobu Sugata, who led TMP’s market dominance with record-breaking sales during the course of his six-year term from 2010 to 2015.
Under Sugata’s sterling leadership, TMP achieved 100,000 annual unit sales in 2014, thus allowing it to enter the Global Toyota 100K Club. In 2015, TMP recorded its 1-million sales milestone, and attained its 14th consecutive Triple Crown as industry leader. For motorsports enthusiasts, Sugata is credited with revitalizing Philippine motorsports through the Toyota Vios Cup.
Speaking at the ceremony, Toyota Motor Corporation managing officer and CEO of Asia, Middle East, and North Africa regions Kyoichi Tanada congratulated TMP for achieving a new sales record of over 125,000 units in 2015, ranking 4th in Asia and 13th in Global Toyota. He also lauded the Philippine government’s implementation of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS Program), noting that TMP can be expected to actively participate in boosting the competitiveness of the local auto manufacturing industry.
Taking on the helm of the company’s leadership during this era of great accomplishment for TMP is, for new president Suzuki, a welcome challenge. “It is with great pleasure to once again 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 positiv change to usher the country towards becoming a key player in the regional automotive scene,” he said.
Suzuki’s first course of duty at TMP was in 1997-99 as marketing vice president in charge of sales and product planning operations. He then joined Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) in Singapore, where he was responsible for the Philippine and Thailand markets. He moved on to Japan to handle project-related issues such as plant expansions and new model introductions for Asian countries. In his latest assignment prior to returning to the Philippines as TMP president, Suzuki was responsible for all sales-related issues in Asia, in both TMAP-Japan and TMAP-Singapore.
Outgoing TMP president Michinobu Sugata