The success of Toyota is incredible today, and the company is showing astonishing financial results when most of Japanese companies are in the doldrums. It is the biggest of the heavyweight competitor in the car industry. General Motors and Ford, whose market shares are falling in favor of Toyota, are only selling 10% of the global cars. This car manufacturer is an example to follow, but also a mystery that is not so easy to understand. The reasons for its success are numerous and come from a clear policy, which is shared in factories and headquarters all around the world: the search for excellence. Several key strengths are fueling this policy, which are flexibility, speed and productivity. Toyota managed to create a global and integrated manufacturing system to increase its productivity and guarantee perfect market responses.
[...] For instance, when Toyota launches new models for new targets that can be defined as risky (the eco-cars for example), it knows that it owns a cash-and-securities reserve of $30 billion, which is useful in case of failure. “This is a company that does not fear failure”, says Cho, because it knows that many assets are here to avoid a catastrophe. All of Toyota's philosophy is based on this idea of security: the firm builds factories in the USA also to protect itself from the fluctuations of the yen. [...]
[...] All countries, all needs, all budgets, this shows that Toyota adopted a risky policy, but was nevertheless successful. Toyota builds cars for all geographical markets, adapting the design and the characteristics of the cars to the market. But the firm also wants to surprise the consumer, and proposes models that were not likely to be launched in particular markets. For example, in the USA, where the car is evidence of social success and where people are keen on vans or big cars and are not as concerned about pollution, Toyota succeeded in launching eco-friendly cars. [...]
[...] This innovation leads to another interest: Toyota can now build a car in only 20 hours. This constant search for the best led to the highest level of productivity for Toyota. Even if some competitors still have some absolute competitive advantages, Toyota today owns all the relative competitive advantages of the car industry, since the company tries to beat each competitor in its own area of experience. Marketing strategy Toyota is an example of innovation and productivity, but this is not a matter for consumers. [...]
[...] Introduction Toyota is undoubtedly the example to follow today in the car industry. The Japanese company is today the third biggest carmaker in the US, and could pass Ford as the world's No.2 auto maker. Its willingness is to reach a 15% market share globally, which is the performance of the No General Motors. The fantastic growth of Toyota is all the more surprising because it is really recent. These extraordinary results can be explained by several factors, whose combination is particularly successful. [...]
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