Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) emerged as one of the biggest winners at the 2026 Toyota Asia Pacific Skills Contest (ASPAC), as its delegation took home six medals across all the categories.
Held at Toyota Motor Thailand’s Ban Pho Plant in Chachoengsao Province, Toyota PH’s delegation showed its technical mastery by being one of the competition’s strongest performers among 11 Toyota affiliates across the region. Toyota PH managed to be on the podium across all categories, while bringing home breakthrough medals in two categories since first joining the annual competition in 2006.
TMP shared that the ASPAC is a highly competitive regional skills competition organized by Toyota Motor Asia for Line Team Members and Leaders from Toyota affiliates in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Pakistan, and India. The goal of the competition is to demonstrate the participants’ technical mastery in shopfloor skills anchored on the Toyota Production System.
Christian Cobilla and Wilmer Penalla, who respectively competed in the ‘Painting – Team Leader’ and ‘Logistics – Team Member’ categories, earned silver medals. Meanwhile, Noel Elpos, Edwin Bocaya, Loreto Muyna, and Ramel Sarmiento clinched bronze for their performance in the Logistics, Assembly, Quality Control, and Welding categories. Since 2006, TMP has brought home 14 medals for the Philippines, including its fourth gold last year.
Toyota PH added that the successful run of its TMP Team Members at the 2026 ASPAC further makes the Philippines not just the fourth-largest market of global Toyota in Asia, but also a hub of top-notch manufacturing talent in the region.
TMP’s notable performance at the 2026 ASPAC extends the car brand’s celebration of its 38th anniversary. As a review, Toyota PH is confident that it will achieve its target of hitting three million cumulative vehicle sales this year.
Among the initiatives seen to help Toyota PH hit its sales target is the brand’s investment in local manufacturing. Operating from its 82-hectare facility in Santa Rosa, Laguna, TMP has produced more than 1.21 million completely knocked-down (CKD) vehicles and currently manufactures the Vios, Innova, and the revived Tamaraw.
These locally built models, according to Toyota PH, helped the company post a record production volume of 63,803 units in 2025 while supporting over 83,000 jobs across its dealer, supplier, and subsidiary network.
Autocar’s Take
Toyota Motor Philippines has once again shown its dominance at the annual Toyota Asia Pacific Skills Contest (ASPAC), as its delegates managed to secure a podium finish across all categories. This is a testament to the level of craftsmanship, quality, and mastery of Toyota PH when it comes to shopfloor skills that are anchored in the Toyota Production System. It also shows that Toyota PH is taking vehicle production seriously, which is an indication of its working methods and environment at its Santa Rosa plant.
