Toyota’s Press Pulls No Punches
08-08-05, 05:41 PM
#1
Speaks French in Russian
Thread Starter
Toyota’s Press Pulls No Punches
Toyota’s Press Pulls No Punches
Toyota’s top American exec takes charge in Big Three turf.
by Paul A. Eisenstein (2005-08-08)
It is well on its way to topping DaimlerChrysler as the nation's number-three automaker, and arguably positioned to challenge General Motors as the world's largest carmaker. So when Toyota's top American rolled into Traverse City last week, he made it clear the giant Japanese automaker is intent only on picking up its pace.
"The customer is in charge now," said Jim Press, Toyota's U.S. president and CEO and its ranking Western executive, stressing that if you can make what customers want, "you win."
The game is far from over, but it's clear that Toyota's got the momentum, improving sales and gaining share even in the face of Detroit's recent employee-pricing incentive blow-out. This power Press emphasized during the keynote speech the executive gave during last week's automotive summit meeting in northern Michigan and a subsequent interview with TheCarConnection.com.
Press said he expects Toyota's U.S. sales to grow by as much as 10 percent in 2005, up from an earlier forecast of five percent. The automaker continued to gain ground in recent months, despite massive Big Three incentives. The Japanese company has recorded an 11.7-percent gain, with July sales up 12.3 percent compared with the same month the year before.
More plants still?
During his appearance at the annual automotive conclave, Press strongly and repeatedly reaffirmed his company's commitment to build products where they are sold. In just the last two months, he pointed out, Toyota has made five separate announcements involving either new plants or the expansion of existing North American facilities. The total Toyota has so far invested in U.S. and Canadian factories, he pointed out, equals the "cumulative profits" the automaker has made in North America during its 48 years in the market.
With the steady surge in sales, Toyota is confidently anticipating even more growth in its market share, and that means still more plants will be needed. Press did not back away when asked about long-standing rumors that Toyota might put one of those future facilities in Michigan . It was a hot topic during a recent meeting between senior company officials and top state representatives, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
With the exception of an operation in California , run in a joint venture with General Motors, Toyota has actively resisted organizing efforts by the United Auto Workers union. But the fact that a Michigan plant would be in the UAW's backyard is "not relevant" to the final decision, according to Press.
Though the executive declined to discuss the talks in detail, well-placed sources suggest that if Toyota does come to Michigan , its plant would be built in the western part of the state, where there is a large pool of trained manufacturing talent but less sympathy towards the union.
Setting up an assembly plant in Michigan would not only create much-needed jobs, but could also give the Japanese automaker a public relations coup at a time when the Big Three are looking to close more plants in response to declining sales and share.
The "greatest PR people"
They are "the world's greatest PR people," General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently declared, his voice mixed with envy and frustration at the way Toyota has been using its expanding production base to "sell themselves as American."
The Asian maker has also scored points with its emphasis on the environment. Call it "self-enlightened self-interest," suggested another Toyota executive, David Hermance, during the Management Briefing Seminars, in Traverse City.
Though it was second to the U.S. market with a hybrid-electric vehicle, Toyota now dominates the nascent hybrid segment with its third-generation Prius. (The first version was sold only in Japan.)
In recent months, Toyota has added several new gasoline-electric models, the Lexus RX400h and Toyota Highlander, and worldwide, it intends to launch another ten by the end of the decade, part of its plan to sell at least one million hybrids worldwide, Press pointed out. Not all the new hybrids will be available to American consumers, he cautioned, but he expects that with current and new models, hybrids should account for "a quarter" of Toyota's U.S. volume.
Press said he expects that hybrids will account for about 12 to 15 percent of the overall American market by decade's end, the actual number depending upon how other manufacturers ramp up production of the gasoline-electric vehicles. But there's no question that Toyota's commitment is deep and will continue well beyond the ten products announced.
"At some time," said Press, during an interview with TheCarConnection.com, "hybrids will become (essentially) a transmission option: you'll order a stick, an automatic or a hybrid." Key to that evolution, he added, is bringing down production costs on the technology.
Press insisted he is not worried about a possible backlash to overblown hybrid claims. Even the green-minded Consumer Reports magazine faulted the automaker for overstating the mileage models like the Prius deliver in real-world driving. But as TheCarConnection.com recently reported, Toyota is shifting both its technical and marketing emphasis to underscore other hybrid advantages, including improved vehicle performance.
Press wrapped up his speech to the Traverse City confab in a manner underscoring Toyota's growing industry leadership position. The executive emphasized that there are plenty of uncertainties to address, from traffic congestion to oil imports. The best way to deal with these problems, Press suggested, would be to convene an automotive summit, bringing together industry, government, research and educational leaders.
"The goal," he said, would be to create "a vision of the industry as we want it to be ten to fifteen years from now."
Toyota’s top American exec takes charge in Big Three turf.
by Paul A. Eisenstein (2005-08-08)
It is well on its way to topping DaimlerChrysler as the nation's number-three automaker, and arguably positioned to challenge General Motors as the world's largest carmaker. So when Toyota's top American rolled into Traverse City last week, he made it clear the giant Japanese automaker is intent only on picking up its pace.
"The customer is in charge now," said Jim Press, Toyota's U.S. president and CEO and its ranking Western executive, stressing that if you can make what customers want, "you win."
The game is far from over, but it's clear that Toyota's got the momentum, improving sales and gaining share even in the face of Detroit's recent employee-pricing incentive blow-out. This power Press emphasized during the keynote speech the executive gave during last week's automotive summit meeting in northern Michigan and a subsequent interview with TheCarConnection.com.
Press said he expects Toyota's U.S. sales to grow by as much as 10 percent in 2005, up from an earlier forecast of five percent. The automaker continued to gain ground in recent months, despite massive Big Three incentives. The Japanese company has recorded an 11.7-percent gain, with July sales up 12.3 percent compared with the same month the year before.
More plants still?
During his appearance at the annual automotive conclave, Press strongly and repeatedly reaffirmed his company's commitment to build products where they are sold. In just the last two months, he pointed out, Toyota has made five separate announcements involving either new plants or the expansion of existing North American facilities. The total Toyota has so far invested in U.S. and Canadian factories, he pointed out, equals the "cumulative profits" the automaker has made in North America during its 48 years in the market.
With the steady surge in sales, Toyota is confidently anticipating even more growth in its market share, and that means still more plants will be needed. Press did not back away when asked about long-standing rumors that Toyota might put one of those future facilities in Michigan . It was a hot topic during a recent meeting between senior company officials and top state representatives, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
With the exception of an operation in California , run in a joint venture with General Motors, Toyota has actively resisted organizing efforts by the United Auto Workers union. But the fact that a Michigan plant would be in the UAW's backyard is "not relevant" to the final decision, according to Press.
Though the executive declined to discuss the talks in detail, well-placed sources suggest that if Toyota does come to Michigan , its plant would be built in the western part of the state, where there is a large pool of trained manufacturing talent but less sympathy towards the union.
Setting up an assembly plant in Michigan would not only create much-needed jobs, but could also give the Japanese automaker a public relations coup at a time when the Big Three are looking to close more plants in response to declining sales and share.
The "greatest PR people"
They are "the world's greatest PR people," General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently declared, his voice mixed with envy and frustration at the way Toyota has been using its expanding production base to "sell themselves as American."
The Asian maker has also scored points with its emphasis on the environment. Call it "self-enlightened self-interest," suggested another Toyota executive, David Hermance, during the Management Briefing Seminars, in Traverse City.
Though it was second to the U.S. market with a hybrid-electric vehicle, Toyota now dominates the nascent hybrid segment with its third-generation Prius. (The first version was sold only in Japan.)
In recent months, Toyota has added several new gasoline-electric models, the Lexus RX400h and Toyota Highlander, and worldwide, it intends to launch another ten by the end of the decade, part of its plan to sell at least one million hybrids worldwide, Press pointed out. Not all the new hybrids will be available to American consumers, he cautioned, but he expects that with current and new models, hybrids should account for "a quarter" of Toyota's U.S. volume.
Press said he expects that hybrids will account for about 12 to 15 percent of the overall American market by decade's end, the actual number depending upon how other manufacturers ramp up production of the gasoline-electric vehicles. But there's no question that Toyota's commitment is deep and will continue well beyond the ten products announced.
"At some time," said Press, during an interview with TheCarConnection.com, "hybrids will become (essentially) a transmission option: you'll order a stick, an automatic or a hybrid." Key to that evolution, he added, is bringing down production costs on the technology.
Press insisted he is not worried about a possible backlash to overblown hybrid claims. Even the green-minded Consumer Reports magazine faulted the automaker for overstating the mileage models like the Prius deliver in real-world driving. But as TheCarConnection.com recently reported, Toyota is shifting both its technical and marketing emphasis to underscore other hybrid advantages, including improved vehicle performance.
Press wrapped up his speech to the Traverse City confab in a manner underscoring Toyota's growing industry leadership position. The executive emphasized that there are plenty of uncertainties to address, from traffic congestion to oil imports. The best way to deal with these problems, Press suggested, would be to convene an automotive summit, bringing together industry, government, research and educational leaders.
"The goal," he said, would be to create "a vision of the industry as we want it to be ten to fifteen years from now."
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
jruhi4
Car Chat
32
10-27-09 05:21 PM