Toyota president modest on world growth, cautious on race with GM

[Bakemono]

http://www.nyse.com/interface/jsp/NH...sdowjones=true

On a visit to America's car capital, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) President Katsuaki Watanabe was unwilling to claim success in the Japanese company's move toward the No. 1 spot among the world's automakers.
Instead, he said Toyota must continue to improve its quality from the top down to remain a leader in the auto industry. He spoke to reporters Thursday night after an address to the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress meeting in Detroit.
Toyota has been nearing parity with Detroit-based General Motors Corp. (GM), currently the world's top producer of cars and light trucks.
Asked about the prospects of passing the struggling GM, Watanabe said, "You will never know until all the numbers are in."
While Detroit automakers have struggled, closing plants and cutting tens of thousands of jobs, Toyota has done well. But Watanabe said the automaker has no plans to build a plant in Michigan.
Toyota's global vehicle production topped 9 million in 2006, at 9.018 million vehicles, marking the fifth straight year of growth. GM and its affiliates produced 9.180 million vehicles worldwide in 2006.
Watanabe also was modest about Toyota's international competitive status.
"We're still developing in many regions of the world. I don't regard that as a success yet," he said.

In his keynote address, Watanabe said Toyota is the first Asian company to chair the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress. He reminded those in attendance of the critical role they play in helping cure some of the industry's ills.
But he added that energy, environmental and social issues will not be solved by vehicle engineering alone.
"There must be collaboration between industry, government and academia," Watanabe said.
"Ultimately, competition leads to innovation and development of advanced technologies, but cooperation by all of us is essential to create a transportation society in which people and transportation vehicles can harmoniously exist and that can be sustained."

[ECHOKnight2000]

^^^Great article. At least Toyota acknowledges the fact that rapid growth isn't nessicarly good because it not only stretches resources but also efficency overall. And Toyota is well aware that quality and reliability are the main strong points for its cars selling so well and it must keep that not only for its own good but the fact that it can't rest on it laurels and let the competition catch up or at least surpass it, obviously it varies from company to company but Toyota among some others still rank the highest in reliability and that is key, especially for a car since you are dependent on it to get yourself places on a daily bases.

Toyota FTW!!

[Bakemono]

I agree. It kind of annoys me when people make the comment that Toyota only cares about production numbers now instead of quality and that they are obsessed with beating GM to the point where quality has gone out the window.

[RAV4EVR]

Originally Posted by Octane

I agree. It kind of annoys me when people make the comment that Toyota only cares about production numbers now instead of quality and that they are obsessed with beating GM to the point where quality has gone out the window.

Those comments are meant to annoy us by those people.