Toyota Sets to Replace GM as World's Largest Automaker, America's Most Popular Brand
“Politicians and pundits always like simple answers. Unfortunately simple answers, as appealing as they are, are usually wrong. Life is inherently messy and complicated, which is something die-hard conservatives and liberal politicians never seem to understand.” Uh, OK. That’s the coda to an article by Joseph Szcesny. ToMoCo’s rise the top of the global pile and Detroit’s plummet into the depths of bankruptcy (in all but name) inspired the Oakland Press scribe to chastise all and sundry on a mid-winter Sunday. Be that as it may, it’s certainly true that “Toyota Motor Corp. is very likely to replace General Motors Corp. as the world’s largest automaker next month once all the sales for the 2008 are finally totaled up by both companies. Toyota is also expected to emerge for the first as the best selling brand in the U.S. for the first time ever, beating out both Chevrolet and Ford.” In fact, on the world stage, this is a repeat performance. Last year, GM used weasel words to cast aspersions on Toyota’s claim to the world’s largest automaker crown (GM added a minority joint venture in China to their global totals). At the time, GM CEO Rick Wagoner said the title wasn’t important; profits were. You can almost hear Red Ink Rick’s Szcesny-like refrain. Hey! Life’s complicated.
More by Robert Farago
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Don't you mean, "America’s Most Popular Bland"
To those who say all car companies are equally hurting is just nuts. Toyota will lose less % units than any of the domestics and thus hike their market share. (remember Farago saying you can't shrink yourself back to number one) More important than last years sales will be the total viability of the respective companies. Toyota will lose in a year what GM lost in a month, but that's only part of the story. With their low debt loads and cash reserves, they are poised to finish off the domestic competition. How? You simply build your bland, vanilla, solid, cars just a little better, by not cancelling developement. After another two years of this (with 30 years of falling behind already logged in by the big three), the buying public will see the toyota looking chevy's as well quaint. This is a game of relentlessly moving targets (if you are Japanese and some German companies) against the status quo if you are an American company. The domestics cannot improve, advertise, and market all of their stuff with each under 20% of the market. not withstanding the franchise laws for dealers and union contracts which want to suspend the laws of physics. A falling object will keep accelerating downward etc. Why do bland (toyotas) sell? Buyers tend to get comfortable with the no big surprise auto company. The cars always run, are reasonably modern in design if not style, and will be tradeable with a real residual value in the end. If only GM and Ford could be so boring.
Toyota didn't read the tea leaves any better than the folks in Detroit did and they've got to make some serious adjustments to be in a position to be competitive in the future. Even if they were the top-selling brand in 2008, next year is going to see some big changes in the automotive industry and Toyota could find themselves scrabbling around in the dirt with Ford and GM looking for crumbs while the Chinese makes have a sales bonanza - because they had the right vehicles at the right time.