HINO Motors Philippines Corporation of the Toyota Group opened Thursday its dealership in Negros Occidental with its new showroom and service facility at the National Highway in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
The Hino dealership is under Aylwin Yap, Negros president.
The grand opening was held Thursday, March 21.
Hino Motors Philippines Corp. president Mitsuharu Tabata, chairman Vicente Mills Jr., Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., the Yap family, guests, customers and others graced the grand opening.
Yap said, “We are happy to see you all here. Our economy runs on transport and logistics. Commercial trucks, buses and public utility vehicles play a major role in our society. And unless we develop and modernize our transport system, both public and private, our economy will never reach its full potential. We are living in the age of speed and convenience. People are desperate to save time and nobody wants to wait. The most valuable currency in the 21st century and our generation is certainly not the US dollars, not the euros, but time. Same is true with transport and logistics.”
He added that Hino is offering the people of Negros innovative transport solution that can save time.
“For time is equal to cost efficiency and more income. Hino Negros is here to provide total support to all our valued customers, whom we treat as business partners more than customers. We guarantee total support in after-sales services with spare parts to be made available to our clients. Together with HMP, we are here to support you all the way in this very competitive transport and logistics industry,” Yap also said.
The service facility will focus more on the quick service and PMS (preventive maintenance service) of light- and medium-duty trucks. The full service and big facility for heavy duty trucks and buses is in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, which is just few minutes’ drive from Talisay.
Hino has also been a steady partner of the local government units in nation building, saving lives, and supplying them with best-fit and reliable fire trucks, ambulance, sewage vacuum truck, calamity rescue vehicles, mobile kitchen and the like.
Hino Negros will bring in the leading commercial trucks and buses in Asia, he said.
Mills, for his part, said: “We are back here in full force. The Philippine economy that has been growing very rapidly the past five or six years is expected to continue to grow. The island of Negros is having its own growth and own problems. We know that the sugar industry is under siege again from imports and other problems related to the production of sugar.”
“However, we know also that this is not the first time that Negros has gone through crisis. But you have proven time and again that you are not only a survivor but you progress under these difficulties. When business is good, we are all happy. But when business is not so good, that is when we learn, and I think Bacolod City and Negros and the sugar industry have learned from the difficult times. We are sure that you will prove yourselves succeeding through these difficult times.”
“Hino now stands before you to support you in this effort to improve, grow, expand and diversify. We are not here to sell the trucks. We want to be your partners. The mantra of Hino is to provide you with total support. We don’t just give the truck and kiss you goodbye. We know that nobody buys a truck just to have it but because you have to make business out of it or earn money from it. That is why total support is our mantra.”
Mills continued: “We know that truck is down and the fuel consumption is very high and sometimes becomes unpredictable. So you go to Manila to buy spare parts or get technical services there—that is not good for your business. That is the reason why we have elected the Yap family, or Aylwin Yapto be specific, not only to provide the trucks you need for your cargo and to transport people, we are the face of a total support. We are your partner here. All manufacturers say we want to be partner with your day-to-day operation of your business, but we are going to be different. Ours is going to be the face of Hino in Negros.”
“We will support him and he will support you and we are hoping that we can live up to the challenge of becoming your partner in your day-to-day business. We look forward to serving you in your specific needs. We don’t just supply the chassis but we have our own body-building plant. We can build a body based on your specification.”
“We have the eco-PUV (public utility vehicle), which was initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte, which is supposed to be the modern jeepneys to replace the old jeepneys that have been serving the country since the war. But this is going to be a new transport element where we produce these units specifically for this direction. In Manila, we already delivered these units. Aylwin Yap will be meeting with the transport operators here to also offer this model to them. We focused on our products and we want to be your partner in your business for the long run,” added Mills.
Tabata said: “We are here to serve the growing demand of this progressive city and province. Hino all over the world has already announced the idea of total support since 2012. The after-sales services are more important to us to fully support our customers. We will also provide safety and eco-driving drivers training, which is part of our total support activities. Aside from trainings, we will also provide onsite and free maintenance program. We will provide you with excellent and quality and satisfactory services at all times. That is the Hino promise. I want to congratulate Hino Negros for this grand opening. We welcome you to the Hino family.”
Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. congratulated HMPC for its trust and confidence in investing in the province. He said: “Hino Motors is not new to the province. When the sugar industry was modernized and new sugar mills were put up in the early ‘80s, Hino trucks were already used. We are very glad that HINO is back in Negros. With your assurance of prompt and efficient service and ready and available spare parts, I don’t see why Hino will not progress. Congratulations, Aylwin and family.”