Toyota Plots Record Production Push to Counter How Crappy 2020 Has Been
Toyota is reportedly seeking to supercharge vehicle production to record levels in the latter half of 2020 as a way to help offset how lousy the rest of the year has been. Its previous six-month record was achieved in 2015 and resulted in 4.53 million sparkling new automobiles. But Toyota would like to eclipse that this year and is targeting 4.6 new vehicles between July and December, with the biggest assembly push coming in the final quarter.
Will that change by January? Definitely not.
The firm only managed to build 3.31 million vehicles worldwide in the first half of this year — resulting in 28.6 percent fewer cars than the same period in 2019. Toyota is aiming to narrow that gap to about 17 percent for the entire year (vs 2019) by building 7.9 million vehicles in total. A full recovery clearly isn’t happening for the Japanese manufacturer but that doesn’t place it in a situation that’s dissimilar for any other major automotive conglomerate. Everyone lost this year and simply getting back into fighting shape before year’s end is still an achievement.
[Image: Toyota Motor Corp.]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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My local Toyota dealer's lot has suddenly been filling up, but I don't know if that equates to 2019-level sales. US unemployment is still 7.9%. But as we've noted before, new car prices are increasingly favoring higher income people, and of course typically only employed or retired people buy new cars.
The large volume Toyota dealer where I live didn't have any trucks, and just a few CUVs. Lot was pretty empty. It's starting to look a little better.
Sorry, I'm not buying this story. Today, automakers in general, (except Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, and now FCA), and Toyota in particular, do not build cars because they can, or because they "hope" to sell them. They build what they think will sell. If we give the Japan Times, the benefit of the doubt, maybe in Japan there is pent-up demand, since they appear to (publicly) have COVID under control. I doubt it. The USA is Toyota's most important market. Car sales are not going to bounce back. Trucks are hot, yes. But guess what---even mighty Toyota cannot just "turn the knob to HIGHER" and crank out more trucks. No one can. Smart carmakers have learned NOT to make vehicles they must jam down dealers' throats that may not sell. Toyota is the smartest. I'm hitting the "BS BUTTON" on this one, Matt Posky and TTAC.
I'm not trying to be smart or political here but can the new president issue an executive order shutting down the country? Toyota might want to wait and see how this all shakes out before ramping up production like that.