Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota ’s founder, recently took over as President of the struggling Japanese automobile manufacturer and it didn’t take him long to issue a warning that the industry is set for at least two more years of tough times. Toyoda said that, in a bid to make the company profitable again, his focus will be on creating autonomous operations to focus on region-specific vehicle lineups across the globe.
Toyoda said that the automaker might not provide a full lineup in every market any longer; in order to streamline operations, he will steer the company “back to basics” as he believes his grandfather would have done. He has also called back former Toyota executives to help slash costs by at least 800 billion yen this year as global sales are expected to drop to just 6.5 million vehicles (down over 1 million) this year.
Former President Katsuaki Watanabe made a similar promise when he took over in 2005, however, and the automaker has done little to cut costs because, until last year, it was making a solid profit. Facing a second year of record profits, Toyoda wants the company to further cut costs from its operations.
“We want to do everything possible to avoid a third consecutive year of losses,” Toyoda told reporters.
Region-specific lineups
Though Toyoda gave few details as to how he plans to reduce the size of Toyota ’s offerings across the globe, he did confirm that the automaker will heavily push hybrids in Europe.
It is not expected that Toyoda will look to significantly boost production of the hot-selling Prius, however. Analysts have warned that increased Prius production could eat into the sales of the company’s more profitable models.
Toyota will set up a more independent operation in North America, where all models will be subject to market-specific adjustments, though Toyoda gave few details.
