Toyota Japan appoints New Chairman & First Local MD/CEO

Toyota Lanka, the nation’s first flagship automobile company in pursuit of becoming the “Next Gen Mobility Solutions Partner to the Nation” and the country’s first automotive company to pioneer the 3S (Sales, Spare-parts & Service) concept has received a new Chairman and appointed the first-ever local MD/CEO to its board.

Beginning of a 25-year-old automotive empire

Established on 12 Dec 1995 as a 100% fully owned subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corp (TTC) of Toyota Group Japan, Toyota Lanka is currently a leading-edge advocate in the mobility transformation sector.

Today the global automotive industry is being re-shaped by the “CASE” phenomena, which refers to Connected Cars, Autonomous, Shared & Subscription mobility, and Electrification. Toyota Lanka as a part of its global multi-national background is carefully evaluating these disruptions taking place to pioneer its new and next growth phase of transforming from a car company into a “next mobility company”.

Toyota Lanka is celebrating its 25 years of serving the nation and has shown exponential growth in expansions and extended product-lines with an unparalleled symbiosis in customer service value addition.

Arrival of Chairman of Toyota Lanka

Newly appointed Chairman, Sachio Yotsukura expressing his views on the new assignment in Sri Lanka said, “It has been a true privilege to join and to lead this talented team at Toyota Lanka. I am extremely excited to take up the baton and steer the company to the next growth phase”.

He expects to support the Sri Lankan economy by looking at various other economic vitalities and business verticals such as renewable energy, next technology, global parts & logistics, electronics, and next generation mobility.

Baton passed on to a New Beginning!

Giving his first-ever press comments Chairman also said, “My commitment is to build on the success of my predecessors by accelerating our pace of progress”. He thanked the management and staff, for their unstinted commitment and dedication to delivering great products and innovative solutions for the last 25 years.

The Chairman of the Board, Sachio Yotsukura                      

With 37+ years of experience spanning many countries in the Toyota Group, Sachio Yotsukura has been a true leader of multi-national exposure. Previously he was the MD of Toyota Kenya, and Chairman of Toyota Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, and Mauritius. He possesses diverse working experience in Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Oceania, and Southeast Asia.

New MD/CEO, Manohara Atukorala speaking on the appointment commented, “With global experience and business leadership transformation Chairman will give us a fresh global think-tank with a locally-building business direction to re-direct Toyota Lanka in the mobility solution space in the new normal”.

The New MD/CEO on board, Manohara Atukorala

Manohara Atukorala is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICSL) and holds a MBA from the University of Colombo. He is a product of De Mazenod College, Kandana. He joined Toyota Lanka in 2003 from the overseas hospitality industry as the Head of Finance. He was able to successfully transform the company to establish a new culture of “Customer-Guest-Experience”.

He has been the cornerstone to turnaround Toyota Lanka as a change catalyst. By crafting the company strategy from an undesirable state into a state of growth and prosperity he has gained global attention as a “transformation leader”.

He is the first-ever Sri Lankan MD/CEO to be appointed by Toyota Group Japan after six Japanese MD’s at the helms. It was during this time that he was tasked with revamping the company’s strong brand presence backed by after-sales services.

Noting on this appointment Chairman said, “It was the right decision to appoint Manohara Atukorala as the MD/CEO, who moved the company from 2003 into the new era of automotive and mobility with deeper focus on customers.”

During his career, Manohara Atukorala was monumental to introduce many Japanese customer service principles such as Toyota Way philosophy to Sri Lankan operations.

Chairman, representing the Toyota Tsusho Corp (TTC) also said that headquarters is extremely pleased with the achievements and leadership of Manohara Atukorala. “He made Toyota Lanka the jewel of the crown in our group”.

Speaking on this, Manohara Atukorala said he is elighted to accept this appointment as MD/CEO and further rest assured of maintaining the highest customer focus and quality of service to this nation.

Prior to this appointment, he successfully completed an accelerated Global Advance Leadership Program which was conducted in three phases in Paris France, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Japan in 2019 on global leadership, strategy, and innovation at HEC Paris.  This program is only offered by the recommendation of Toyota Tsusho Group, Japan for few and selected individuals of the highest reflection of leadership and strategy. HEC is one of the world’s oldest business schools established in 1881 and catering to prized CEO’s in the world.

Toyota Lanka (Private) Limited: (TLPL)

Toyota Lanka is the sole distributor for Toyota, HINO trucks and forklifts. As a Value Chain (VC) business with strong support on after-sales services the company has it is own genuine spare parts and motor oil, accessories, and total industrial racking system covering a full-stack auto mobility solution.

Toyota Lanka is a 7 times gold award winner in most outstanding customer services excellence category, whilst being a global award-winning HR practitioner in the Toyota Group. Toyota Lanka has been recognized by Toyota Group as a “role model” and placed itself as a Center of Excellence (CoE) for South-East Asian region for the notable contributions of transferring technical skill and technology to SEA countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives.

Island wide Network: Epicenter of Regional Growth

Toyota Lanka operates vehicle showrooms and service facilities of world class standards at Wattala, Ratmalana, Kurunegala, Maharagama, Negombo, Matara, Kandy, Ampara and Ratnapura where it operates a fully-fledged 3S facility. In a sprawling acreage in Wattala, is also the island’s only dedicated Body Repair & Paint (collision repairs & car restorations) facility. The company has also established over a dozen of its owned spare-parts branches catering to spare-parts needs of the island nation.

With the roll out of ambitious expansions, the company always takes a good care of life and community of people in the regions. Setting up operations and expansions, always means creating an economic and community development associated with mobility.

Whilst technology, technicality and automobile engineering skills are transferred, Toyota Lanka is in pursuance of spotting local talent, fostering their growth and development as new breed of auto-professionals. These mechanisms of creating home grown talent, has immense possibilities to place in the local industry employment. Beyond that as an entrepreneur. It also awaits possibilities of overseas employment which certainly uplift the most important economic vitality and financial empowerment to the country.

Forging into to Future!

Amidst the unprecedented times and looking ahead, Toyota Lanka intends to extend Japanese-blended-Sri Lankan hospitality with customer obsessed-guest experience in all touch points. To cater to local and global automotive skills demand, the company continues to grow and harvest a new breed-of-auto-professionals to the nation and beyond.

Signature: Customer “Guest” Experience

In a recent global survey focusing on Sri Lankan auto user experience, Toyota Lanka ranked as one of the most preferred automotive service brands. The digitally conducted survey reflected the services of Toyota Lanka as a “guest experience”. This is a true manifestation of living Toyota’s DNA and brand heritage of Quality, Durability, and Reliability & Safety by Toyota Lanka.

The best is yet to come!

The Company is carefully strategizing in the new financial year to Recover, Re-adjust and Re-direct its pathways in the new normal. Digitalization, 3rd party collaboration and partnerships are welcomed to re-shape the industry connecting new forms of propulsion.

With the years of firm foundation laid long before, Toyota Lanka continues to explore opportunities to create value to customers, dealers, employees and shareholders for a vibrant future, amidst pandemic and “perfect storm” as the auto company describes the current industry situation.

Adding final comments, Manohara Atukorala expressed how the future focus would be, “We are ooking at the expansions in global next mobility eco system and Toyota Lanka will assist the necessary government stakeholders in laying the country’s next mobility road map and framework to uplift the economic vitality to be best in Asia whilst preparing Sri Lankan youth to the global skill demand in need”.