Although Toyota ’s main U.S. competitors included General Motors, Ford and Chrysler , the Japanese automaker is actually rooting for the Big Three to pull out of the current downturn, as a failure could prove disastrous for Toyota.
Toyota’s VP of engineering and manufacturing, Steve St. Angelo, gave the typical corporate response that better competition is ultimately better for the consumer, but the vested interest in Detroit runs much deeper for Toyota.
Truth be told, Toyota shares many of its suppliers with the Big Three. If one of the Michigan automakers were to fail, it would ravage the industry’s supplier base, and would likely disrupt operations at Toyota’s North American plants. “We share many of the same suppliers, so if one of our suppliers has difficulty with either Chrysler , GM or Ford , there’s a good chance they are going to have difficulty for us,” St. Angelo told The Detroit News.
The U.S. economy also largely follows the auto industry, so any downturn has the potential to impact Toyota’s bottom line.
“We want everyone to succeed,” he added.
