Toyota: What, Me Worry?
If you, dear reader, had expected (or, perish the thought, hoped) that SUA hype and rapid fire recalls would bring Toyota down, then stop reading immediately. What follows will not be good for your circulatory system.
Ok, you have been duly warned: The Nikkei [sub] reports that Toyota’s domestic output in Japan rose 119.6 percent on the year to 309,933 units in February, up for the fourth straight month. Toyota’s exports increased 106.9 percent to 150,232 units, the second straight monthly improvement. Sales in Japan grew 49.9 percent from the previous year to 149,604 units last month, up for the seventh month in a row. Toyota’s overseas output was likewise unimpressed by the avalanche of auto-accelerating autos. It improved 58.8 percent to 345,247 units, marking the seventh consecutive month of growth.
Output by other Japanese manufacturers wasn’t too shabby either.
Nissan produced 97,109 cars in Japan in February, up 121.3 percent on the year. They exported 50,279 vehicles in February, up 99.1 percent from the previous year. Nissan’s domestic sales expanded a modest 14.6 percent on the year to 63,687 units. Overseas production grew 53.4 percent to 173,257 units.
Honda could do better. Its domestic output rose 52.2 percent from the previous year to 83,310 units in February. Exports fell 33.6 percent to 19,482 units. Domestic sales climbed 20.3 percent on the year to 55,307 units last month. Overseas output increased 48.2 percent from 2009 to 201,401 units.
Mazda’s domestic production in February rose 71.3 percent to 69,711 units.
Mitsubishi Motors’s domestic output in February increased 171.3 percent to 54,638 units.
A precipitous fall of new SUA news, and predictions that March will be a good one, should give reason to sound the all clear. Cautiously.
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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How predictable. Now that the media hype is over and the lies, deceipt and scandels are being swept under the carpet, all the Toyota cult lovers are looking the other way like nothing ever happened. It's funny because bucket loads of Camrys, Tundras and Corollas are being traded in droves for litterally anything else. I can't go in to a dealer without seeing at least 10 late model used Toyotas in Chevy, Ford and even Dodge dealerships so it;s not time to brake out the bubbly just yet. And just what has the mighty Toyota done to solve the SUA issues, the frame rot issues, the brake issues, the steering issues and the 58 lives lost?
In today's NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/business/global/31toyota.html?ref=global-home In a nutshell, Toyota anticipates March sales numbers will look good.