Toyota Case Study
Toyota is a typical example of how Japanese Industry succeeded.
Although it Is often conservative In design and not very creative In bringing new ideas, its special attention to build quality and reliability wins customer confidence gradually. Its emphasis on technology development and production efficiency results In up-to-date products and good value for money. That’s why Its cars capture a lot of brains If not hearts. Nevertheless, in recent years Toyota starts getting more creative no matter in design and technology. Examples are Prussia and IQ.
Hopefully it will be even stronger n the future. Toyota does not have many brands and subsidiaries. Most cars are sold under its own brand, while Dadaists takes care of mini cars and Lexus concentrates on premium and luxury cars. Scion is a youthful brand created by its US marketing division and is still rather insignificant. Heap’ trucks and commercial vehicles are produced by its subsidiary Hint. Toyota did not invest into foreign Marques, as it believes more In its own effort.
Being the most powerful car maker in the world, Toyota holds many number one titles: No. 1 sales worldwide, No. Sales In Japan, est.-selling car In the world (Corolla), best-selling car In USA (Campy), most factories all over the world, the widest range of vehicles, highest profitability..
. Would be easy to think Toast’s biggest problem is Its damaged reputation caused by sudden acceleration recalls, millions in government fines and massive lawsuits and settlements. But what’s hurting the company most is an aging lineup of boring cars. Over the past decade, Toyota and its US dealers had it easy. Cutting-edge design wasn’t required because the cars sold themselves on reputation.
Everyone knew
Toasts held their value, were safe and got drivers from point A to point B with little drama, then the recalls came which called all of that into question. Ending 2010 on a low note, Campy sales fell 10 percent in December from a year earlier. Corolla sales plunged 35 percent. Unless things turn around quickly, Campy is in danger of losing its 10-year crown as the top-selling car In the US this year to the H The latest recall Is the result of a problem with a potentially defective power window switch on the driver’s side of the affected vehicles which, the maker says, “may experience a ‘notch’ or sticky feel during operation.
If commercially available lubricants are applied to the switch in an attempt to address the ‘notch or sticky feel, melting of the switch assembly or smoke could occur and lead to a fire under some circumstances. ” Toyota already announced recalls for several models involving similar window switches and in February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced it would open an investigation into the issue.
But at the time it focused on Just 830,000 Campy and RAVE-4 models sold during the 2007 model year. The massive size of the new recall underscores the risks manufacturers like
Toyota face when they share basic components on a wide range of vehicles hoping to improve manufacturing economies of scale. In the U. S. , the vehicles Involved In the latest recall Include: 2007 – 2009 Campy 2007 – 2009 Campy Hybrids, approve.
116,800 vehicles; 2007 – 2009 RAVE crossovers, approve. 336,400 vehicles; 2007 – 2009 Tundra pickups, approve. 337,100 vehicles; 2007 – 2008 Yards subcompacts, approve. 110,300 vehicles; 2008 Highlander Subs, approve. 135,400 vehicles; 2008 Highlander Hybrids, approve.
23,200 vehicles; 2008 – 2009 Scion CD models, approve. ,400 vehicles; 2008 – 2009 Scion XA models, approve. 77,500 vehicles; 2008- 2009 sequoia SUBS, approve. 38,500 vehicles; 2009 Corolla compacts, approve. 270,900 vehicles; and 2009 Matrix crossovers; approve. 53,800 vehicles Honda Accord.
Admitting fault to these mistakes Toyota would be facing some great type of grief with media and government, Just all types of problems so the best idea is too not take action and admit these actions because you can always fix mistakes and this is what the company of Toyota has to do.
Toyota would be paying the worst type of fines and suits and would cost them over a million dollars because of so many things have happened to people driving their cars that led to injuries some even to death which is Toyota to blame. The best way is to pay all the fines and continue this way unless you feel there is a way to get out of it which would be impossible for Toyota because lots of evidence, fighting the government will always make things worse so it is best to contest any fine or admission and proceed to another option. There is no question that Toast’s quality image among consumers suffered with the recalls.
Not only is he decline visible in survey data, it has also been greatly amplified by the media. David Champion, senior director of Consumer Reports Auto Test Center, has said that Toyota vehicles quality measurably decreased in recent years.
In 2007, the magazine observed that the fit and finish of some Toyota models, as well as overall vehicle quality, had declined. In 2008, Consumer Reports decided no longer to give automatic “recommended” ratings to all Toyota models based on their previous evaluations. Part of the reason brand reputations don’t recover quickly can be traced to the media and to ongoing interest by government regulators.
During January and February 2010, when Congress conducted hearings on the Toyota recalls, the recall story was among the top 10 news stories in all but one week. In a U.
S. Media fixated on celebrities and brands, stories about endangered icons are, by nature, eminently newsworthy. In this case involving unintended acceleration, with the safety of millions of drivers and passengers at stake, there was the added concern for public safety.
