Toyota: The Once-in-a-Century Challenge
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Case Code: BSTR362 Case Length: 16 Pages Period: 2006-2009 Pub Date: 2010 Teaching Note: Not Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization: Toyota Motor Corporation Industry: Automotive Countries: Global Themes: Business Policy, Strategic Management, Leadership and Change |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
The Number One Automaker
Over the years, Toyota had made a name for itself for its innovations, financial soundness, and global competitiveness (Refer to Exhibit III for world‘s most admired companies and Exhibit IV for Toyota‘s industry rank on key attributes). Toyota was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937. In its initial years, it focused on adapting the Ford Production System to suit the Japanese market. However, it later adopted its famed Toyota Production System1 (TPS, also referred to as ―lean manufacturing system‖), which took the automobile industry by storm and enabled the company to come out with many innovative models in a cost-efficient way.
Following World War II, international manufacturers were concentrating on medium-sized and larger cars but Toyota kept its focus on small cars. Kiichiro resigned from Toyota in 1950 and the company saw a series of Presidents in subsequent years. The company started its globalization in the 1950s and entered the US market in 1957. It established its first overseas production unit in Brazil in 1959. It entered the European market in 1963. Besides manufacturing, the company started a global network of design and R&D facilities covering the three major car markets of Japan, North America, and Europe. The company underwent rapid expansion in the 1960s and 1970s and exported fuel-efficient small cars to many foreign markets. It focused on lowering its production costs and on developing more sophisticated cars. The Toyota Corolla, which went on sale in 1966, became Japan‘s most popular family car...
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