Since the beginning of civilization, or even since man first came to think coherently, he has needed a form of transportation. However, it was only recently that transportation became completely essential to the survival of the human race, as we started to want to live our lives faster and faster. We soon wanted to move around quickly and efficiently, and this is where the billion dollar vehicle industry came into the picture. Toyota Motor Corporation is a part of the vehicle industry, and is based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has become one of the largest organizations within the vehicle industry.
In 1933, the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works formed the Toyota Motor Corporation, although it was known as Toyoda Motor Corporation at the time. The organization was merely a division of the larger organization, and was placed under the leadership of Kiichiro Toyoda, who was part of the family that had founded the company. However, the company did not remain part of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works for long, and by 1937 was an established corporation by itself. In 1936, the company decided that they needed to have their logo changed to accommodate the new identity that they were creating for themselves (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2004). The name Toyota was originated, and came about to become an international symbol for perfectionism in the automobile industry. The eight brush stroke that the word ‘Toyota’ was written with in the Japanese language was thought to be lucky for the organization at the time (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2013). The three symbols were also put together to create the logo for the organization.
Toyota was not content to hold on to its operations in Japan. Its operations continued to increase on its local market, but it decided to go into the overseas market to capitalize on markets which were previously unexplored to their full capacity. This is where they turned their attention to the United States of America (Kaisha, 1988). They exported their first car, the Toyota Crown, to the United States of America in 1957. This was known as the Toyota Motor Sales Inc., with its headquarters in Hollywood, California. Toyota did not start selling its vehicles until 1958, and even then only sold up to 288 vehicles. This included Toyopet Crown vehicles along with a single Land Cruiser. However, while the Toyopet was an honest effort, it was not enough to go up against the other organizations in the market (Kaisha, 1988). The product was overpriced and underpowered, and could not rise in the American market. However, the Land Cruiser did extremely well, and carried Toyota into the US market. It was then that the Toyota Corona arrived in the US market in 1965. It was designed for the American drivers in the country, and helped to triple the profits of the company in the US.
However, Toyota was still not content. It was important for the company to be flexible in its operations. They were an automobile manufacturing country, and in order to be competitive they needed to offer their products quickly and effectively when demand increased. Toyota realized that it could not provide its products to its customers by manufacturing it in Japan, and therefore started its first overseas manufacturing plant. In 1962, it started to build vehicles for the first time outside its country in Brazil (Kaisha, 1988). The manufacturing plant was set up to ensure that the customers in the United States of America received all the products that they demanded, and Toyota maximized its profits.
It wasn’t until 1982 that Toyota decided that it needed to maximize its operations completely. It decided to combine the resources of the two aspects of its operations – the Toyota Motor Co. Ltd and Toyota Motor Sales Co. Ltd. Both the aspects of the organization focused on creating a local and international presence which would establish Toyota as the most successful automobile corporation in the world (Kaisha, 1988). The United States of America was quickly becoming one of the most important automobile markets in the world, and Toyota decided that this was where it would gain the most. It decided to tap into the unexplored potential of the US market by creating a joint venture with General Motors, or as it was known then the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. It had previously been unable to meet the demands of the US market, even with the automobile manufacturing plant in Brazil. Therefore, with the new partnership it created a new manufacturing plant in the United States itself (Kaisha, 1988). This manufacturing plant would directly sell to the US markets, flooding the market with products like the Toyota Corona and all other Toyota products which were reliable and handy for the US markets. Of course, it was not until four years later that the manufacturing plant actually began production, and the demand in the United States had reached its peak at that point.
Up till then, Toyota was the working class vehicle manufacturer. It mass produced vehicles which appealed to the average American. Its products were reliable and affordable, and attracted large numbers of customers throughout the country. However, there was a largely unexplored market niche within the US markets, and this was the luxury vehicle market niche. Toyota had not managed to manufacture any product which appealed to the luxury market niche. In fact, it had not appeared practical before that to enter the market because all of the major vehicle manufacturers were facing trouble in the luxury vehicle producers. However, it was then that Toyota introduced the Lexus Brand in 1989, and explored the market that was slowly being abandoned by other vehicle manufacturers (Kaisha, 1988).
In 1992, Toyota introduced the Toyota Motor Manufacturing in the United Kingdom. This vehicle manufacturing plant was intended to spearhead the company’s venture into the European market. It started production in the UK, and built on the foundation of Toyota and Lexus brand’s success throughout other markets.
Toyota has faced a number of problems since its inception. The founder of the company proved to be an ineffective leader, and failed to create success for the automobile company in the first few years. The unions that were part of the Japanese economy at that point were swift to point out that it was Toyoda’s neglect that had resulted in the layoffs of hundreds of workers, and therefore called for his resignation. Once Toyoda had resigned, the company was taken over by Taizo Ishida, who had previously proven his leadership as leader of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works. Taizo Ishida did not concern himself with the present situation of the company. Instead, he set about focusing on creating a future for the company. He did so by ensuring that Toyota invested on future equipment that could manufacture high quality cars that would be accepted in the automobile industry markets (Assembly Newspaper, 2007). During the 1960s, the company gained on other companies within the Japanese automobile market, until it seemed as though even Nissan could not hold its own against Toyota (Assembly Newspaper, 2007). This continued as Toyota became the largest automobile corporation in the world in 2010 but the problems during the economic recession combined with the defaults in their products resulting in recalls turned the market against them.
Toyota is an automobile manufacturer, which means that the company does not limit itself to producing any specific type of automobile product. This includes production of SUVs, Four Wheel Vehicles, Cars, Trucks and Buses. Famous brands like the Lexus are part of the company’s arsenal of vehicles which are produced and marketed around the world.
Through the late 1990s, the effects of global warming were being felt throughout the world. The temperatures in the world were increasing, and various climatic features were changing. It was this that prompted Toyota to take action against its effects. Global warming has affected Toyota similar to any other organization in the automobile industry. Their image as an organization that places incredible value on corporate social responsibility is reduced when consumers realize how much their vehicles help destroy the environment indirectly by consuming oil, natural gas and coal. In fact, a major part of the ozone layer has been depleted because of how much carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide has been given out by vehicles manufactured by Toyota in the last fifty years (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2013). However, Toyota has done its duty. It has provided consumers with a means of transportation, and pushed itself to the limits of human advancement in technology to help the environment. This is where it has come upon the Toyota Prius – the world’s first mass produced hybrid vehicle. The vehicle was produced in the year 1997, when the company decided that it had found a way to manufacture this product o a large scale efficiently. The Toyota Prius is the most environmental friendly vehicle in the world, and in 2008 the vehicle has sold up to 1 million units throughout the world (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2013). In a single year, the company added a million more vehicles sold to its annual reports, which show how much the organization is doing to stop the effect that global warming is having on the planet earth.
During the 1980s, the company was manufacturing vehicles for consumers throughout the world. In order to meet the demand for vehicles, and at the same time supply the consumers with the same high quality vehicles they had always manufactured the company decided to adopt the Just in Time Manufacturing system (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2013). This became part of The Toyota Way. The high demand that it faced from the various markets could now be met because the company could afford to manufacture vehicles on large scale. They could meet the demands of the public, and increased their market share significantly because they were consistently providing high quality products in the markets. The Just In Time Manufacturing System would keep the inventory of the company in check throughout its operations. It keeps updating its inventory to acknowledge every single sale that it makes (Liker, 2004). This provides it with feedback on which products it should manufacture and the pace it should keep in order to meet the demands of the customers and maximize its profits.
In the last decade, Toyota’s profits and revenues have risen up and down. Of course, its revenues are significantly higher than its revenues in the beginning of the 21st century (Toyota Motor Corporation , 2013). However, growth has been slowed down by the misfortunes that Toyota faced along the way. Its focus declined and the company lost sight of how its biggest strength had always been the quality of its products rather than the quantity. Toyota had become the largest automobile manufacturer in the world by providing customers with reliable products which would perform according to the requirements of the customers. But it encountered problems. In conclusion, it is important for Toyota to fall back to becoming a consistently high performer rather than providing the largest number of vehicles in the world.
Resources
Assembly Newspaper. (2007, February 6). The Creators of Toyota's DNA. Assembly , p. n.d.
Kaisha, T. J. (1988). Toyota : a history of the first 50-years. Toyota City: Toyota Motor Corporation.
Liker, J. K. (2004). The Toyota way : 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Toyota Motor Corporation . (2013). History of Toyota. Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corporation.
Toyota Motor Corporation . (2004). Vision & Philosophy . Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corporation.
