Toyota launches P4.7 billion Batangas Vehicle Center

MANILA, Philippines — Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) has inaugurated the P4.7 billion Batangas Vehicle Center (BVC) which will streamline and ensure the timely delivery of vehicles, as well as enable the automotive firm to prepare for future volume requirements.

The 32-hectare facility will streamline vehicle handling prior to inter-island transport and ensure the quality as well as promised delivery time for vehicles to dealers and customers.

“This BVC is our renewed commitment to better days ahead. It is our tribute to the joint efforts of the government, business sector and the Filipino people to win the war against COVID and build a better tomorrow, together,” TMP chairman Alfred Ty said during the inauguration ceremony.

Located six kilometers from the Port of Batangas, the BVC will allow TMP to receive imported vehicles from international vessels much faster.

BVC, which houses main vehicle preparations including washing, standard accessory installation, inspection and vehicle maintenance, has an annual capacity of 160,000 units.

For real-item vehicle tracking, TMP uses RFID-tagging technology.

With 18 truck covered lanes for vehicle loading and unloading, the BVC has been designed to take into account the changing weather conditions in the Philippines, and makes TMP the first among Toyota logistics facilities in Asia Pacific to have such a feature apart from Japan.

The facility also has a finished goods yard which can stock 4,500 units at a time.

“Our operations are now streamlined by the BVC with shortened handling time of units to better preserve the vehicle quality prior to inter-island distribution across our expansive Toyota dealer network. Ultimately, it supports the consistency in total customer experience being provided anywhere in the country. With the BVC in operation, we are more confident to deliver the promise of delightful mobility to our customers’ doorstep,” TMP president Atsuhiro Okamoto said.

He said BVC also enables TMP to prepare for future market demand.

“The Batangas Vehicle Center or BVC is indeed just one of TMP’s many channels to address today’s and future volume requirements of the local automotive market. This facility gives a stock capacity boost of 4,500 units to top off our existing center in Santa Rosa, as well as makes annual capacity of over 160,000 units at maximum level feasible,” he said.

For Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, TMP’s move to streamline logistics operations would not just shorten the customer waiting time and preserve vehicle quality until delivery, but also provide an opportunity to expand local manufacturing capacities and generate jobs in the area.

While the automotive industry is seeing an encouraging upward trend, Ty said challenges remain due to the impact of the pandemic.

“For the most part, we are quietly doing what we can as an industry to cope with the challenges of operating under the necessary limits on economic activity. Toyota has preserved jobs despite the downturn in sales. We have also partnered with our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)  neighbors to minimize the disruptions in our supply chain. Indeed, we are counting on government, the Department of Trade and Industry and Secretary Lopez to assure that the path to recovery will remain an open and smooth one,” he said.

With the automotive industry seen as a key driver of economic activity, Lopez said the government is committed to continue to promote the development of the sector.

“Thus, we assure you that the government will remain on course in its policy to develop the local automotive manufacturing industry and bring it to the level of a regional player that is capable of exporting through the BVC,” he said.