Unless youve been hiding under a rock the size of Mt. Makiling, youre probably aware that the new Toyota Hilux and the Toyota Innova have been making brisk business in the Philippines of late. Motoring aficionados are also very much aware that these vehicles are virtual "firsts" in the local automotive industry. In other words, weve really never seen anything like them in their price range before. Ha! All of the sudden the words "Innovative Multipurpose Vehicle" dont seem too alien now, do they?
Officially launched in Australia over the second weekend of March, the IMV project introduced a number of Asian motoring journalists to a very interesting bunch of vehicles and processes that practically proved how serious Toyota is in catching up with the great American duo (General Motors and Ford) in the worldwide sales race. Not that Toyota isnt visible enough as it is. As Vince Socco, general manager of the Marketing Services Department of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific stressed during the said launch, "Toyota sells in more countries than Starbucks Coffee and McDonalds." He isnt exaggerating. Toyota has customers in all the continents around the world save for Antarctica, and its vehicles are available in over 140 countries. Those are some staggering numbers, indeed.
But the said numbers arent nearly enough. This aggressive Japanese enterprise knows that if it is to make a serious run for the top, it has to localize its efforts to suit the needs of the diverse auto markets around the world. And this is where the IMV project comes in.
This is where all the "innovation" begins. As Toyota is a Japanese entity, the regular practice is for an original prototype vehicle to be produced in Japan, then copied in regional plants when production begins. For the IMV project, no such prototype was built, at least not in Japan. In Thailand and Indonesia, where Toyota has large manufacturing facilities, the IMV project was developed from scratch. It was in these countries where the five IMV models (another one of which is scheduled to debut in the Philippines soon) were designed with road conditions and other factors like climate and local taste and needs being taken into consideration. Sourcing of materials was then distributed throughout the region to ensure that Toyota would be able to obtain the highest quality parts for the most reasonable prices (Asahi, a Philippine supplier, for example, builds the windshields for the IMVs). It was a carefully calculated system that had to be adhered to in order for such a complex task to be completed, but Toyota has been known to persevere. The result of more than 600 suppliers working in congruence with a quality-oriented entity can now be seen in the roads of the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The confidence in the IMV project within the Toyota organization is so pervasive, in fact, that no less than Shigeru Takayanagi, one-time Toyota Motor Philippines president and current senior vice president of the Marketing Planning Division of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific, stressed that the IMV project will be a portent of things to come for Toyota. "Using the IMV project as a benchmark, a new era of global projects is beginning, and the growth this will bring to the people and countries involved will also help Toyota to grow as an automobile manufacturer," he said. That, in a nutshell, is how beginning with the end in mind is bound to get you places.
Our subsequent test drives of all IMV variants proved that Toyota did their homework in looking after the Southeast Asians needs and preferences. Well feature the punishing and not-so-punishing exercises the IMVs went through in a future article. Suffice it to say, the vehicles did not disappoint which is short of saying that at least from our perspective, the IMV project has gotten off to a great start. From the looks of it, Toyota has this going global thing right down pat. The automotive powers that be had better be wary. This is one Japanese enterprise thats bound to take over the world, one car market at a time.