Don't Bring Me Down: Toyota Raises Worldwide Output
Despite having their hands full with recalls, class action suits, Prius hoaxers and gold diggers, Toyota is not falling into deep depression. To the contrary, they think demand in 2010 will be higher than originally planned. And they ramp up their production to meet the demand.
Reuters heard from a source inside of Toyota HQ that the Japanese auto maker is not lowering their targets. In the contrary, “Toyota has lifted its global production plans by another percent to 7.57 million vehicles for 2010, anticipating better demand in Japan and other Asian markets,” the deep throat in Aichi said. All in all, Toyota is planning on a 19 percent jump of worldwide sales, not even counting Daihatsu and Hino.
In December, Toyota had told its suppliers to prepare for 7.49 million Toyotas sold worldwide in the 2010 calendar year. After the Toyota troubles, observers had expected that number to come down. Instead, the insider tells Reuters that today in the afternoon, suppliers will be notified of an up revision.
Where does Toyota want to find willing buyers?
In Japan, Toyota plans to cash-in on the subsidy-led demand for fuel-efficient cars, and will lift domestic production plans by 40,000 units.
In “non-Japan markets,” Toyota plans to sell 100,000 units more. These “non-Japan markets” are most likely code for China, where the market experiences double digit growth. Says Reuters: “Toyota, like the rest of the industry, is counting on double-digit sales rises in China and India to make up for an expected fall in European car demand after government subsidies run out.”
What about that other “non-Japan market?” In North America, where there is a lot of anti-Toyota contamination to deal with, Toyota has lowered plans by 60,000 units. Most of these cars are, or make that could have been locally produced.
If anyone wanted to hurt Toyota, the attempt appears to backfire. The only damage is in North America, where it pains domestic suppliers and dealers.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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The stock price is already nicely above where it was BEFORE all the recall business started. That's only one indicator, but it's often a good one.
A relative of mine is looking to dump her problematic 2009 Equinox for a new 4runner and my coworker just traded her gas guzzling Tahoe (with numerous intermediate steering shaft replacements) for a Highlander. Toyota will be fine.