{"id":16749,"date":"2021-04-27T08:42:12","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T08:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/business-leaders-share-their-insights-on-new-zealand-japan-relations-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-07-21T07:07:50","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T07:07:50","slug":"toyota-winning-the-hearts-of-new-zealanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sms-bridges.com\/staging\/toyota-winning-the-hearts-of-new-zealanders\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyota: Winning the hearts of New Zealanders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Neeraj Lala<\/strong>, CEO Toyota New Zealand | \u00a9 Toyota New Zealand<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Neeraj Lala, who took the helm as the CEO of Toyota New Zealand last year amid the uncertainty of a global pandemic, has set forth the company\u2019s new mission of winning the hearts of New Zealanders over the next decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToyota\u2019s global vision to \u2018mass produce happiness\u2019 is where our drive to win the hearts of New Zealanders comes from,\u201d explained Lala. \u201cWe intend to do this by delivering an exceptional customer experience and mobility for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota New Zealand is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC). It was recently awarded a commemorative medal by TMC and recognized for delivering more than 50 years of contribution and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have put ourselves under pressure to achieve something exceptional and this is not an easy task. But our resilient team can leverage from our strong base that is rooted in the values and principles of our parent company in Japan,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota\u2019s journey in New Zealand began in 1966 when TMC awarded a franchise to private owners Cable Price and Wright Stephens. It assembled a variety of \u201ccompletely knocked down\u201d vehicles in Thames and Christchurch all the way through to the late \u201990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local assembly ceased in New Zealand after the government lifted tariffs on imported vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dI look forward to leading Toyota New Zealand through these exciting times and to winning the hearts of New Zealanders.\u201d<\/p>NEERAJ LALA<\/strong>, CEO
Toyota New Zealand<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen the markets started to open up, TMC took full ownership of Toyota New Zealand and our innovation really accelerated,\u201d Lala shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major developments included the introduction of Toyota Financial Services and Lexus, the launch of the iconic \u201cWelcome to our world\u201d campaign and the establishment of the National Customer Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota is the only car brand in New Zealand that has a national center dedicated to its customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the introduction of independently owned Toyota stores and Toyota\u2019s continuous innovation, we became a most loved brand, jumping from sixth in the market to No. 1, a position we\u2019ve held on to for a record 33 consecutive years,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the economy opened, used car imports started flooding the market and for many years New Zealand was the No. 1 export destination for used cars from Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota New Zealand made the strategic decision to refurbish the used Toyotas entering the country and market them under its Signature Class brand, making it the first Toyota distributor in the world to have a full used-vehicle division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWe always have our customers at the center of everything we do and we felt that we needed to look after those that have purchased these used Toyota vehicles even if we did not bring them in,\u201d explained Lala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting to Toyota President Akio Toyoda\u2019s concept of waku doki <\/em>(heart-pumping excitement), the Toyota Racing Series was introduced in New Zealand. Motorsport was used to inject excitement into Toyota, turbo-charging the brand even further in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, Toyota New Zealand launched the customer- centric Drive Happy Project to remove the pain points associated with buying a brand-new car and to make the process as efficient and as enjoyable as possible. Upfront, haggle-free prices, \u201cno hard sell, just happy customers\u201d and flexible test drive options are just some of the ways they do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neeraj Lala shares in President Toyoda\u2019s passion and enthusiasm to transition from being a traditional automaker known for cars, trucks and vans to a mobility company focused on exciting future technologies. \u201cWe are in a very good place to leverage off the strengths of our parent company. I look forward to leading Toyota New Zealand through these exciting times and to winning the hearts of New Zealanders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.toyota.co.nz<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neeraj Lala, who took the helm as the CEO of Toyota New Zealand last year amid the uncertainty of a global pandemic, has set forth the company\u2019s new mission of winning the hearts of New Zealanders over the next decade. \u201cToyota\u2019s global vision to \u2018mass produce happiness\u2019 is where our drive to win the hearts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[331,292,635,126,259,330],"tags":[507],"class_list":{"0":"post-16749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-331","8":"category-articles","9":"category-automotive-new-zealand","10":"category-automotive","11":"category-bridging-japan","12":"category-new-zealand","13":"tag-consumer"},"yoast_head":"\nToyota: Winning the hearts of 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