Toyoda: Automaker ?grasping for salvation?

[SVT666]

Toyoda: Automaker ?grasping for salvation?
10/02/2009, 9:20 AMBY ANDREW GANZ

   
Though Toyota?s September sales were not off by as much as some of its Detroit and Japanese rivals, the automaker?s new president, Akio Toyoda, says that the company is ?grasping for salvation? during this dire stretch.

Toyoda cited the five stages of corporate decline organized by How the Mighty Fall author Jim Collins by warning that his company has entered the fourth step.

The automaker is on the edge of ?capitulation to irrelevance or death,? Toyoda said at a news conference in Tokyo. ?Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers.?

Toyoda did cite one factor beyond his ability to alter that has led to his company?s financial troubles: The weak dollar to yen exchange rate.
?When you get to this level, it makes it difficult to return to profit on sales growth alone,? he told reporters.

[FoMoJo]

If they stopped blaming their customers for the faults of their vehicles they may not now feel the need for salvation.  The epitomy of arrogance, imo.

What is this "Toyoda" anyways?

[cawimmer430]

?Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers.?


Didn't they reach this stage years before the economic crisis when they alienated their few remaining enthusiasts by canning the Celica (or making it FWD and looking like a sissy car) / MR2 / Supra and of course bringing out ass ugly cars?

[3.0L V6]

Toyoda: Automaker ?grasping for salvation?
10/02/2009, 9:20 AMBY ANDREW GANZ

Toyoda did cite one factor beyond his ability to alter that has led to his company?s financial troubles: The weak dollar to yen exchange rate.
?When you get to this level, it makes it difficult to return to profit on sales growth alone,? he told reporters.

Doesn't Toyota manufacture the bulk of its mainstream cars/trucks in the United States and Canada? Doesn't that sort of nullify the yen-dollar argument?

I'd imagine that the only imported cars would be higher end vehicles such as Lexus' and perhaps Scions.

[SVT666]

If they stopped blaming their customers for the faults of their vehicles they may not now feel the need for salvation.  The epitomy of arrogance, imo.

What is this "Toyoda" anyways?

The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles.

[sportyaccordy]

?Toyota has become too big and distant from its customers.?


Didn't they reach this stage years before the economic crisis when they alienated their few remaining enthusiasts by canning the Celica (or making it FWD and looking like a sissy car) / MR2 / Supra and of course bringing out ass ugly cars?

Unless I'm mistaken, up until recently Toyota was selling more cars than they ever did during their enthusiastic stage. Plus they literally have the efficiencies of automation and manufacturing down to a science.

The bottom line is people are just not buying new cars like they used to. Outside of Subaru no manufacturer has been immune from the downturn.

[Laconian]

Unless I'm mistaken, up until recently Toyota was selling more cars than they ever did during their enthusiastic stage. Plus they literally have the efficiencies of automation and manufacturing down to a science.

The bottom line is people are just not buying new cars like they used to. Outside of Subaru no manufacturer has been immune from the downturn.

They don't have the same kind of passion from their customers that they used to. Without customer loyalty, it's difficult to carry sales inertia between generations and across product lines.

[sportyaccordy]

They don't have the same kind of passion from their customers that they used to. Without customer loyalty, it's difficult to carry sales inertia between generations and across product lines.

I honestly don't know if any Camry has elicited passion from anyone. Maybe the few fringe enthusiasts. Plus their sports cars were so far removed from their mainstreamers I think it's safe to say people who bought Corolla sedans/wagons and Camries knew nothing of Supras or MR2s. Plus they will ALWAYS sell cars. They have the formula down pat. Why complain?

If they want to legitimately take a step out of their comfort zone and make cars people will truly enjoy driving, they will be welcomed with open arms. But there's nothing stopping them.... they have the money & know how, they're just so damn conservative.

[ifcar]

Unless I'm mistaken, up until recently Toyota was selling more cars than they ever did during their enthusiastic stage. Plus they literally have the efficiencies of automation and manufacturing down to a science.

The bottom line is people are just not buying new cars like they used to. Outside of Subaru no manufacturer has been immune from the downturn.

Hyundai/Kia has done the best.

[MX793]

Doesn't Toyota manufacture the bulk of its mainstream cars/trucks in the United States and Canada? Doesn't that sort of nullify the yen-dollar argument?

I'd imagine that the only imported cars would be higher end vehicles such as Lexus' and perhaps Scions.

Many of their North American market cars are assembled in North America, but many of the parts are sourced from Japan.  In addition, the engineering and development work is largely done in Japan.  The money they get from cars sold in America for dollars does eventually have to find its way back to Japan in yen, and if the exchange rate is weak, the company ultimately sees less profit at corporate headquarters.

[GoCougs]

If they stopped blaming their customers for the faults of their vehicles they may not now feel the need for salvation.  The epitomy of arrogance, imo.

What is this "Toyoda" anyways?

"Toyoda" and "Toyota" are English-ized spellings (referred to as romaji) of the same Japanese word (last name) - there aren't any hard and fast rules as to romaji translation. Further, the consonants "d" and "t" do not exist as such in the Japanese language; their consonants exist WRT to English as a combination and a vowel; i.e., there is no "n," "i," or "b," but rather "no," "ni," "ta," "chi," etc.

Plus, the company is in Toyoda City (almost always spelled with a "d" it seems on maps), not too far from Nagoya, where I often visit.

[the Teuton]

Let me say this: This example right here proves why Adam Smith is the bomb-dot-com. The free market system will always find a way to regenerate through cycles.

Toyota wanted volume, but because the market was shrinking, they ended up losing money with excess underutilized capacity. They also lost quality by starting to sort through parts manufacturers like the Americans, hunting for the best price instead of the best parts. In the end, they lost this round for the moment.

I want to see what Hyundai, Subaru, and Ford can do now.

[sportyaccordy]

I want to see what Hyundai, Subaru, and Ford can do now.

Me too... if I were in the market for a newish car it would probably be a Ford or Mazda, which would be unheard of just a short 10 years ago. Bigger is not always better. If Hyundai can improve its interiors like Nissan did in the mid '00s, I think their spot will be solidified as well.

[CaMIRO]

There's room for just one "Toyota" in the auto industry; partly because there are only so many ways to sell vanilla, and partly because you cannot successfully attack an established brand by mimicking its position in the marketplace.

That said, if Toyota drops the ball, Hyundai will be there to pick it up.