Case Analysis : Toyota Prius Essay

Today, Toyota is the world's third largest manufacturer of automobiles in terms of both unit sales and net sales. It is also the largest Japanese automotive manufacturer, producing more than 5.5 million vehicles per year, equivalent to one every six seconds. See Appendix 1 for a list of its guiding principles. Appendix 2 depicts excerpts from the company’s 2000 annual report showing their main goals for that year. The company has 12 manufacturing plants in Japan and approximately 54 manufacturing companies in 27 countries throughout the world. These plants produce vehicles and components under the Lexus and Toyota brand names and employ about one quarter of a million people worldwide. In total Toyota vehicles are marketed and sold in more than 160 countries and regions with the automotive business, including sales and finance of the vehicles, accounting for more than 90% of the company's total sales. Appendix 3 shows worldwide sales and appendix 4 shows the models produced in North American Toyota plants. North Americanization of Toyota Since the late 1980’s Toyota had made several moves that showed their commitment to what management called the North Americanization of the company. The idea was to increase car sales in the lucrative North American market by also introducing manufacturing plants that produced parts and assembled whole vehicles for

Toyota Motor Corporation (TOYOTA) is one of biggest automaker in the world. Main products are a passenger car, truck, bus, RV etc. The company headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan which employed 300,734 people worldwide and was the third largest automobile manufacture in 2011 by production behind General Motors and Volkswagen Group. Toyota is the eighth largest company in the world by revenue (around 200 billion USD) in 2011. The company reported it had manufactured its 200million cars in 2012.

Should the new Toyota president accelerate the launch scheduled for the Toyota Prius? The plan to introduce the car “at the end of 1998 with expected production of 1000 units per month…” (Reinhardt, Yao & Egawa, 2006) is an extremely aggressive and ambitious goal; but, is it in TMC’s best interest to speed up the planned launch? There is no doubt that the new president (Hiroshi Okuda) is under extreme pressure to compete in a global market, he believes the company should radically alter its image to attract new customers and gain a competitive advantage while systematically facilitating environmentally-socially responsible practices. It may very well be that TMC should push for a faster

Hitchcock Automotive Services owns Puente Hills Toyota (PHT), which is a privately held company. In addition to, Hitchcock Automotive Services owning Puente Hills Toyota, they also own two other Toyota dealerships, a Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai, and BMW dealership, all located in California. Puente Hills Toyota was a large Toyota dealership with about $85 million in annual sales. PHT employs around 145 employees and was awarded several excellent performance awards, including the Toyota’s President Award for overall excellence for the past 13 years (Merchant & Van der Stede, 2012). The dealership’s organizational structure was similar to those of others within the industry, other than they combined the new and used vehicle sales department. This organizational structure worked with Hitchcock Automotive Service’s philosophy of keeping manufacturers and customers happy. (Merchant & Van der Stede, 2012)

1) What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen of America? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process?

Toyota is one of the leading manufacturers of vehicles in the United States and across the globe. Toyota is ranked #55 in Forbes, World’s Biggest Public Companies, and capturing sales of 202.8 billion and a market cap of 137.8 billion as of March 2011

Overview: The Toyota Production System has long been hailed and admired as the source of Toyota’s outstanding performance as a manufacturer. TPS aims to eliminate waste, reduce defects and maximize flow. TPS aims to increase efficiency and productivity by employing a unique production system that cuts costs through continuous improvement. Long term goal is to yield sharp reductions in product development and manufacturing lead times. Toyota want to be the industry best and they stand behind their culture to share the wealth of how they do it.

Both Ford and GM completely abide by NYSE corporate governance standards, as they are domestic US companies. Ford and GM are required to strictly follow NYSE corporate governance standards. Toyota is permitted to follow certain corporate governance practices complying with Japanese laws and regulations, the NYSE has ruled that Toyota is exempt from certain NYSE corporate governance requirements. A significant difference in Toyota’s corporate governance structure is that the company currently does not have any directors that can be deemed as independent directors. Another major difference is that unlike domestic US companies Toyota is not required to have shareholder approval of equity compensation plans,

Toyota Motor Corporation and its subsidiaries engage in the production of automobiles Japan. The company operates in three segments: Automotive Operations, Financial Service Operations, and Other Operations. The Automotive Operations segment designs, manufactures, assembles, and sells cars, recreational and sport-utility vehicles, minivans and trucks, and related parts and accessories. The Financial Services Operations segment primarily provides finance to dealers and their customers for the purchase or lease of Toyota vehicles. This segment also provides retail financing, retail leasing, wholesale financing and insurance, credit cards, and mortgage loans. The Other Operations segment

1) The buyer decision process of traditional Porsche customers relies on the motivations that determine these people to select this brand. Their purchasing decision process is based on the exclusivity of the brand that is connected with the car owner. In their opinion, by purchasing a Porsche, traditional customers purchase the exclusivity and luxury associated with the brand. These customers want to purchase a car that reflects their social status and their financial power. In addition to this, they are not interested in the utility of the car, but in the characteristics that differentiate it from utility cars. These traditional buyers are rather interested in their feeling while driving a Porsche in comparison with the size, price, or fuel economy of the car.

BMW has embarked on a mission to cut its notoriously long product development time in half utilizing a newly developed system code named "Digital Car". Senior management has decided to utilize the new process on the 7-series platform. In order to accomplish this goal, BMW is preparing to take advantage of the latest computer technology in car development. At the forefront of the new plan is a debate over the use of computer-aided-styling (CAS). We recommend that BMW implement the Computer Aided Styling system and processes into their production development program.

Toyota Company was established in the year 1937. Its main activities are the production of vehicles and sales. With its headquarters based in Japan, Toyota has employed over three hundred thousand employees. Toyota Company belongs to the motor vehicle industry where competition is tight even though Toyota is leading on the number of vehicles being sold on a daily basis. Toyota operates in 51 countries worldwide.

Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1919. They acquired the business of a Michigan company, also known as Ford Motor Company, which had been incorporated in 1903 to produce and sell automobiles designed and engineered by Henry Ford. They are one of the world’s largest producers of cars and trucks. They and their subsidiaries also engage in other businesses, including financing vehicles.

Toyota also has a strong portfolio of prestigious brands such as Prius, Camry, Toyota, Lexus, Corolla, Land cruiser, Hilux and other brands. In fact, the annual Brands Top 100 ranked Toyota a leading brand. This strong branding and market position allows Toyota to market its product with premium prices and high profit margins.

Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese automotive manufacturer. Toyota has over 333 thousand of employees across the world and it is the 14th largest company in the world by revenue in 2014. It is the strategic management of logistic and supply that contributes partly of its success today.