Toyota's European Suppliers Can't Keep Up
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Lexus Test Driver
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Toyota's European Suppliers Can't Keep Up
JAPAN: Toyota suppliers can't meet demand for brand
04 May 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Toyota is selling so many cars in Europe that its suppliers cannot keep up with production demand, a top company executive says.
The Japanese automaker's first quarter European results are far better than the company expected with sales of 260,508 units - up 23% on the previous year, Automotive News Europe said.
Toyota forecasts western European sales of 860,000 for 2004. But the automaker believes it would sell more if it could boost production at its plants in Japan, France, the UK and Turkey.
"We could sell more cars but cannot build enough to meet the demand because our suppliers cannot keep up with us," said Tokuichi Uranishi, Toyota board member responsible for Europe.
Toyota was western Europe's top-selling Japanese brand last year with sales of 677,725 vehicles, ahead of No. 2 Nissan's 409,511 units.
Toyota aims to sell 1.2 million cars a year in Europe by 2010.
The company aims to grab sales from volume western automakers such as Volkswagen, Opel and Ford. It is also targeting luxury carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz with its Lexus brand.
Toyota executives expect Lexus sales in western Europe to increase to between 60,000-80,000 units a year from a forecasted 22,500 this year.
Toyota will boost sales without offering incentives. Uranishi said the company will rely on quality and a good price performance.
Toyota believes its hybrid models will become more price competitive against diesel cars in Europe. The company expects the cost of diesel cars to increase as manufacturers are forced to add new technology such as particulate filters to meet future emission laws.
04 May 2004
Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Toyota is selling so many cars in Europe that its suppliers cannot keep up with production demand, a top company executive says.
The Japanese automaker's first quarter European results are far better than the company expected with sales of 260,508 units - up 23% on the previous year, Automotive News Europe said.
Toyota forecasts western European sales of 860,000 for 2004. But the automaker believes it would sell more if it could boost production at its plants in Japan, France, the UK and Turkey.
"We could sell more cars but cannot build enough to meet the demand because our suppliers cannot keep up with us," said Tokuichi Uranishi, Toyota board member responsible for Europe.
Toyota was western Europe's top-selling Japanese brand last year with sales of 677,725 vehicles, ahead of No. 2 Nissan's 409,511 units.
Toyota aims to sell 1.2 million cars a year in Europe by 2010.
The company aims to grab sales from volume western automakers such as Volkswagen, Opel and Ford. It is also targeting luxury carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz with its Lexus brand.
Toyota executives expect Lexus sales in western Europe to increase to between 60,000-80,000 units a year from a forecasted 22,500 this year.
Toyota will boost sales without offering incentives. Uranishi said the company will rely on quality and a good price performance.
Toyota believes its hybrid models will become more price competitive against diesel cars in Europe. The company expects the cost of diesel cars to increase as manufacturers are forced to add new technology such as particulate filters to meet future emission laws.
Thread Starter
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 954
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From: Texas
Consumer are the winners
Tuesday, April 6, 2004
World Auto View
Woe to rivals in Europe if Toyota ramps up power, handling
By Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Plain vanilla may be fine for most people, evidenced by Toyota Motor Co.’s relentless sales gains in the United States with predictable and reliable cars like the Camry sedan.
But despite its glowing reputation for quality, Toyota is losing out with customers who want the kind of responsive handling and satisfying performance that has created a loyal following for German cars, even now with their reliability ratings slipping.
Now, in its plodding and methodical way, Toyota is addressing this shortcoming — and woe to European manufacturers if the Japanese giant succeeds in adding cars to its 29-model North American lineup that deliver both superb handling and top-notch quality at a reasonable price.
At the New York International Auto Show opening this week, Toyota’s upscale Lexus brand will unveil a concept car, the LFC, which hints at the next-generation Lexus IS 300 sports sedan. With the new model, which will probably debut in 2005, Toyota will step up efforts to provide the grittier handling and performance that car enthusiasts crave.
“We’re never going to be all about performance. We’re not BMW,” says Lexus General Manager Dennis Clements.
“But we could be more competitive, offering better handling and better 0-to-60 (acceleration).
“We have the engineering capability. There’s no national mystique to that,” he says.
With the next-generation IS, Lexus will offer a variety of handling styles and engines, as opposed to the current model. It comes with one engine option, a six cylinder, compared with three engines and four different body styles for BMW’s 3-Series, and that doesn’t include its diesel motor in Europe.
The Lexus IS is an excellent starting point: the company can tinker with the car without alienating customers who prefer cushier handling. Its similarly-priced Lexus ES will continue to stress comfort.
Toyota believes it could triple IS sales in the next generation by offering an array of engines and configurations, as the Germans do.
The current model generated 1,450 sales in the United States in the first two months of the year, compared with 14,060 for the 3-Series, which is also nearing the end of its cycle.
Despite its modest showing, the IS is a crucial vehicle: Not only is it Lexus’s contender in one of the fastest-growing car segments, but it also appeals to young customers that Toyota needs to bring consumers into the group at an earlier age.
The average age of its customers is 47, even including the Gen X and Y owners of its funky Scion-brand vehicles. But the typical IS consumer is 30.
An IS with more oomph will be crucial both to Lexus’s plans to grow in Europe, where the brand is struggling against local luxury marques and the company’s drive to appeal to young buyers.
Even in the United States, they tend to like European-style handling more than their parents do, says Jim Farley, vice president of Scion. For instance, the suspensions on the Scion xA and boxy xB models are tuned much harder than on similar Toyota-brand cars.
In the next few years, as Toyota strives to build cars that can better compete against the Europeans on performance, the Europeans will be scrambling to narrow the gap with the Japanese on quality. Either way, drivers will come out the winners.
World Auto View
Woe to rivals in Europe if Toyota ramps up power, handling
By Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Plain vanilla may be fine for most people, evidenced by Toyota Motor Co.’s relentless sales gains in the United States with predictable and reliable cars like the Camry sedan.
But despite its glowing reputation for quality, Toyota is losing out with customers who want the kind of responsive handling and satisfying performance that has created a loyal following for German cars, even now with their reliability ratings slipping.
Now, in its plodding and methodical way, Toyota is addressing this shortcoming — and woe to European manufacturers if the Japanese giant succeeds in adding cars to its 29-model North American lineup that deliver both superb handling and top-notch quality at a reasonable price.
At the New York International Auto Show opening this week, Toyota’s upscale Lexus brand will unveil a concept car, the LFC, which hints at the next-generation Lexus IS 300 sports sedan. With the new model, which will probably debut in 2005, Toyota will step up efforts to provide the grittier handling and performance that car enthusiasts crave.
“We’re never going to be all about performance. We’re not BMW,” says Lexus General Manager Dennis Clements.
“But we could be more competitive, offering better handling and better 0-to-60 (acceleration).
“We have the engineering capability. There’s no national mystique to that,” he says.
With the next-generation IS, Lexus will offer a variety of handling styles and engines, as opposed to the current model. It comes with one engine option, a six cylinder, compared with three engines and four different body styles for BMW’s 3-Series, and that doesn’t include its diesel motor in Europe.
The Lexus IS is an excellent starting point: the company can tinker with the car without alienating customers who prefer cushier handling. Its similarly-priced Lexus ES will continue to stress comfort.
Toyota believes it could triple IS sales in the next generation by offering an array of engines and configurations, as the Germans do.
The current model generated 1,450 sales in the United States in the first two months of the year, compared with 14,060 for the 3-Series, which is also nearing the end of its cycle.
Despite its modest showing, the IS is a crucial vehicle: Not only is it Lexus’s contender in one of the fastest-growing car segments, but it also appeals to young customers that Toyota needs to bring consumers into the group at an earlier age.
The average age of its customers is 47, even including the Gen X and Y owners of its funky Scion-brand vehicles. But the typical IS consumer is 30.
An IS with more oomph will be crucial both to Lexus’s plans to grow in Europe, where the brand is struggling against local luxury marques and the company’s drive to appeal to young buyers.
Even in the United States, they tend to like European-style handling more than their parents do, says Jim Farley, vice president of Scion. For instance, the suspensions on the Scion xA and boxy xB models are tuned much harder than on similar Toyota-brand cars.
In the next few years, as Toyota strives to build cars that can better compete against the Europeans on performance, the Europeans will be scrambling to narrow the gap with the Japanese on quality. Either way, drivers will come out the winners.
Last edited by LexusLuver; May 4, 2004 at 10:55 AM.
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