There is little doubt that Toyota Motor Company has been on a roller coaster ride in the last few years, especially in North America with unintended acceleration issues, production woes and sales declines due to global market downturns and natural disasters alike.
In fact, 2011 was so rough for the Japanese automaker it resulted in the second-worst year-over-year production decline in North America ever experienced by the automaker, as pointed out by Automotive News.
“Despite a challenging year due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that caused limited parts availability, Toyota’s team members and supplying partners were able to ramp up production ahead of schedule,” said Shigeki Terashi, president and COO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America. “This kind of commitment and customer-first spirit will set the stage for growth over the course of the year.”
Toyota’s North American production dates back to 1986, having since increased dramatically and now consisting of seven North American plants, plus Camry production coming from Subaru Indiana Automotive. All told, these plants cranked out 1,458,217 vehicles back in 2010, but dropped to just 1,255,635 for 2011, resulting in a 14 percent decline.
2011′s decline marks the third annual decline in the last five years for Toyota, with 2008 and 2009 reporting 13- and 15-percent declines, respectively, while 2007 and 2010 resulted in increases of 8- and 18-percent.
Despite the doom and gloom, Toyota is very optimistic for 2012 and is predicting not only to reach the 25-million vehicles produced in North America milestone, but it is also projecting the start of increased exportation from NAFTA markets, as well as a general increase in sales for the region that will no doubt help increase production numbers.
