Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMPC), last week officially introduced its new president, Hiroshi Ito. He succeeds Nobuharu Tabata, who concluded his four-year term last month.
TMP’s new president brings with him more than 30 years of experience with Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), the world’s second-largest automaker, and its global distributors in North America and Oceania regions.
His experience with Toyota started in 1975 where he handled affairs concerning Africa Division. During this time, he took the opportunity to expand his knowledge with an MBA at University of Penn (Wharton) in the US.
In 1988, he became senior executive coordinator for Sales Operations of Toyota Motor Sales, USA. After five years, he returned to TMC where he became manager of North America Division, and was later on assigned as deputy general manager of International Public Affairs Division.
His global experience was further enhanced with his most recent assignment as executive director of Toyota New Zealand, Ltd., from 2001 to 2005.
"It is very difficult to add something on top of Mr. Tabata’s achievements. There is no doubt that TMP is on the road to becoming a stronger and more competitive company, with the foundations of growth laid down under Mr. Tabata’s leadership. As his successor, I believe that the next step is strengthening these foundations. As an affirmation of our continued commitment, we are pleased to announce that TMP shall start locally producing the Vios in 2007. Being the current best-selling model in its class, the Vios is expected to boost TMP’s local production, together with the Innova," he said.
In his four-year term, Mr. Tabata made achievements in all aspects of its operations. He led the company to an unprecedented market leadership with four consecutive triple crowns — number one in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and in overall sales. Most importantly, he has helped the company achieve the market share of 36.6 percent in 2005, the highest since its inception.
In terms of product improvement, Toyota introduced five major models, all of which are the leaders in their respective segments. The highlight of which are the three models under the Innovative International Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) Project, the Hilux, Fortuner, and Innova.
The dream of becoming the Best Quality Automotive Company in the country is being realized, through the successful consolidation of its 82-hectare Sta. Rosa Plant; and the continuous local production of the best-selling vehicle in the country, the Innova.
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