Japan Report: Toyota Fearing Success Backlash in America?
Toyota's booming success in the US is now sparking fears of a U.S. political backlash—that’s according to its outspoken former president Hiroshi Okuda (pictured, middle).
In a recent quote from the Associated Press, Okuda said, "we are certainly concerned." Okuda was Toyota’s CEO during 1995-2000 and is generally credited as the man who created the modern, lean, aggressive, super profitable giant that is the Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.
Toyota's rise and rise comes as Detroit's fortunes are still in the balance, as Toyota inches ever closer to overtaking General Motors as the world’s number one global automaker. So it's a politically sensitive time for Toyota. As is typical, Okuda was quoted as saying, "We have never said Toyota wants to be Number One and we do not give such orders to our employees... we have just been doing our job naturally and the numbers merely came about as a result."
Fascinatingly, Okuda has also said that Toyota needs to "significantly" increase the numbers of foreigners on its main board of directors in Toyota City, Japan. Like Honda, Toyota’s main board is currently 100-percent Japanese. Okuda has also called for more foreign ownership of Toyota, but how that will all play with Toyota's traditional and engrained corporate culture remains to be seen.
In Japan, Toyota has a saying: "protecting our own castle, ourselves," which means as much as possible, it wants to keep everything in-house, done the Toyota Way.
Comments
Don
As a rational person, even I have some resentment towards Toyota taking over the automotive world.
But you have to remember that we wouldn't be in this mess if we'd started paying attention to our competition a LOOOOOOOOONG time ago.
Still, though...I want to see GM thump Toyota's boring ass.
Mena
I don't. Long live competition! If GM and Ford can't compete, let them die.
Jason
Mena that's not a very informed thing to say when you consider the repercussions of employees out of work, a wounded economy and not to mention out pride as a country. If GM and Ford die no others will come to take their place with any kind of impact.
The Stig
I wouldn't want to see GM and Ford die, and especially living in Michigan I can already see firsthand the effects of their downsizing. HOWEVER, it is their own fault. They didn't watch the competition closely enough, and they (for the most part) don't produce competitive enough products (or are just concerned to make it 'good enough'). Unfortunately for them and everyone connected to them, in our business enviroment the less competitive companies die and the best ones survive. I would love to support the home team, but if I don't feel I'm getting the best value for my dollar I see no reason to prop up failing companies with my dollars, especially on a purchase with a five figure price tag. That's why I have a Toyota in my garage.
Jesda
You have a Toyota in your garage because you're a bore.
Mark
People who like plain reliable transportation like Toyotas. They are dull cars for people who do not really enjoy cars. In the context of a website like this, Toyota owners are dull.
Unfortunately for Toyota, their superior quality perception is coming under fire with recalls and indifferent quality on some of their models and brands. They are already starting to be seen as the new "old mans car" as the baby boomers who buy them start to gray.
The mainstream media, always behind the real trends will pick this up eventually.
gamen
Why would anyone try to make it sound as though toyota has the same problems as gm and ford, when this is obviously not the case. And this is of course part of the reason why they are doing so well, and gm and ford are not. Their model ranges are full of dull low-quality-cheap-plastic interior chrome-everywhere nonsense models. Toyota came to america, saw what was being made, what the people wanted to buy, and gave it to them. American toyotas have nothing to do with the european models, most of which are designed in their facility in France. American toyotas are purpose-built for the american market, thats their biggest advantage, and drawback. And if you want exciting, there is the Lexus, IS and GS are pretty darn good, and the LS is on par with the S-class, A8, phaeton and whatnot. Ofcourse that comes with a price, but they don't seem to be doing what the americans do, which is manufacture as cheaply as possible, to get the lowest end price possible.
Oh, and there seems to be like a certain number of cars that americans tend to buy each year, and if they are not coming from the american companies, they will come from foreign. When a factory somewhere in detroit closes down, another one opens somwhere else, by nissan, toyota, or hyunday. So things pretty much even out it seems. Ofcourse, their factories seem to be using much more advanced robotics and processes, to minimize the human labor involved, which the unions might think is bad, but the companies themselves probably like it.
Jason
Ah, there is a misunderstanding because I was unclear in my writing. I meant that if GM and Ford die then no other American motor company will step up to be a major force in the industry.
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