No production halt for Toyota Philippines

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) said yesterday they will not suspend local production despite a decision of Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) to suspend production at all of its Japanese plants for 11 days between February and March in response to a slump in sales.

“We have no plans as of now to suspend operation. Japan operation is a separate and independent matter,” TMP vice president for Corporate Affairs Rommel T. Gutierrez said in a telephone interview.

Yesterday, TMC announced that it will suspend production at all of its Japanese plants for a total of 11 days in January, February and March because of low global demand as a result of the global financial crisis.

Only last month, TMC said that for the first time in 70 years they will be posting an operating loss of $1.66 billion for the fiscal year ending March 2009.

TMP, the largest automotive seller in the country, announced zero growth in car sales next year as the slowdown in world economy resulted in a global decline in the demand for cars.

“We will have flat growth for next year,” Gutierrez said

Gutierrez admitted that this year would be more challenging than the last year but strong branding and the introduction of new product lines will help them achieve their goal.

Meanwhile, Gutierrez said the crisis has not dampened their plan to strengthen the local complete knocked down operations.

“We are going to focus on CKDs,” he said. “This would be the focus of Toyota’s initiative,” he added.

The car manufacturer will start selling its high end brand Lexus in the Philippines this year. “We want to enter luxury car market by providing our affluent customers with great products and exceptional service,” Gutierrez said.

TMC last month forecast its first-ever annual operating loss, blaming “an unprecedented crisis” in the global auto industry.

Toyota, which vies with troubled US firm General Motors for the crown of the world’s largest automaker, has already moved to reduce production at its domestic, US, Canadian and French factories.

It also plans to lay off 3,000 temporary workers in Japan, where it builds cars for both domestic and overseas markets.

TMC reported Monday a 37 percent drop in US sales in December, capping a tough year during which the Japanese giant’s sales in the world’s biggest car market dropped 16 percent to 2.2 million vehicles.

The global slowdown has badly shaken Japan’s automakers, which in recent years have cashed in on worldwide demand for their cars.

Toyota had enjoyed hefty profits in recent years fuelled by demand overseas, particularly in the United States, for its eco-friendly hybrid cars.–Ma. Elisa P.Osorio, Philippine Star