KEYNOTE MESSAGE OF SECRETARY RAMON M. LOPEZ

TOYOTA MOTOR PHILIPPINES

17 February 2020, World Trade Center, Pasay City

Acknowledgments

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening!

On behalf of men and women of the Department of Trade and Industry I’m so honored to be part of this milestone for Toyota change of Presidency from Suzuki San to Okamoto San. We look forward to working very well with the new TMP President. And again, congratulations to our outgoing President Satoru Suzuki for his inspiring leadership and for being a good partner of the Department of Trade and Industry, especially as we push for reviving and revitalizing the manufacturing sector.

Their intense participation in the CARS program, the Comprehensive Auto Resurgence Strategy Program, which is really envisioned to establish manufacturing facilities for automotive. Creating more jobs. Creating linkages with the local auto parts supplier.

And we congratulate Toyota for increasing the domestic global content from below 20% you are now 42% in domestic content. And that means greater linkages to the domestic economy and growing auto parts sector which as you know, we are also trying to grow as a major store of exports for our country. And we export these around the world. Especially our special market Japan and even the U.S.

So, we congratulate you and we thank you for your strong participation in the CARS program. Not only that. You have shown also a huge employment figure. But in the Toyota itself you employ around 2,000 but indirect labor created 55,000 and that’s really amazing.

You provide business to 95 local suppliers. You manufactured the new Vios and that is the participating model in the CARS program. And you also manufacture Innova. You definitely know our wish and our wish is for you to manufacture Vios not only for the Philippine market but for the export market.

We would like you to make the Philippines — the production hub especially for the Toyota Vios. And we look forward to your future operations for the production hub of Toyota in the Philippines and that would be very helpful as we strive for greater manufacturing activity in the country.

This would be aligned with the vision of our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. We need to create more jobs, improved the quality of life of the Filipinos in the country as you create the bigger industry directly and indirectly with the local auto suppliers.

We thank you also for the investment over the years but on the participation in the CARS program you invested over Php 5 billion already with modern facilities. We’ve seen the stamping, the press parts, that you have in the country today and that will improve localization of many parts. The Innova and new Vios is registered also under the MVDP program. And the Innova is also registered under the EO 226 since 2015.

We would like to congratulate your market leadership. I always tell our press that Toyota has a good reputation in the country. Very durable and value for money vehicle that is the reason why it is obviously the market leader in the country today with about 40% market share. You now pass also in recovering the growth of the auto industry. Thankfully you recovered in 2019.

You know it was a challenging 2018 but we look forward to higher growth rate as you grow and introduce other models in the country this 2020 under the leadership of the new President Okamoto San. For the auto parts and components, you have contributed to overall exports of about US$3.5 billion.

We express more confidence in the Toyota Philippines to do well despite the 2020 challenges. Right at the start of the year we are all facing these challenges from the Taal Volcano eruption to the current COVID-19.

We hope that we can regain back the consumer confidence as well as the confidence on the economy given these challenges. As you know many Filipinos would really like to go back to normalcy and really expect greater growth and rebound in the industry sector.

We call on the Toyota Motor Philippines to expand the local operation, increase local sourcing and build a higher domestic content for your operations in the country. As we would like to make the Philippines your regional production hub for certain models like the Vios.

Again, thank you Toyota Motor Philippines to the men and women behind, the corporation for helping us in the task of nation building. Your success is the success of every Filipino especially those working with Toyota.

Thank you at magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.