Case study analysis

 Mission Statement: "To attract and

attain customers with high-valued
products and services and the most
satisfying ownership experience in
America."
 Vision Statement: "To be the most
successful and respected car
company in America."
 Introduction
 Toyota motor corporation is a Japanese
multinational company, headquartered in Aichi,
Japan. Toyota is the largest automobile
manufacturer in Japan and the second largest in
the world behind Volkswagen. It was the
world’s first automobile manufacturer to
produce more than 10 million vehicles per year.
 Toyota is listed on the London Stock Exchange,
New York Exchange and Tokyo Stock
Exchange.
 Toyota is the global market leader in
sales of hybrid electric vehicles and also
a market leader in hydrogen fuel-cell
vehicles. Toyota’s success is majorly
because of its continuous improvements
and their reliability of product services.
Employees see their purpose as threefold:
making cars, making cars better, and
teaching everyone how to make cars
better.
 Summary
 Situation analysis-: Toyota has come a long way in its nearly 80 years history and today is the world
largest automaker. Toyota launched its first passenger car in 1936, the Model AA in which the body
design and engine was copied from other companies. Due to this it faced several challenges including a
financial crisis. In 1973, Toyota launched two cars that were more fuel efficient and as per customer
demand providing basic features. In 1990s Toyota gradually added more models ranging in price, size
and features. Soon it launched, a mid sized car naming “Camry”, that became the best-selling passenger
car in North America.
 Problem Definition-: In 2009 and 2010, company had to recall 8 million cars from the market because
of some issues relating to manufacturing, which affected every Toyota’s brand and cost them a huge loss.
Toyota also lost billions of dollars due to earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan that time.
Despite these challenges, Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, said that the company learned many lessons
including Toyota to maintain sustainable growth. It recouped its losses by focusing on its hybrid
vehicles.
 Evaluation of Alternatives-: Toyota gradually understood that each country defines
luxury differently. As a result, the company varied its advertising depending on countries
and cultures. Soon after Toyota launched “Prius”, the first mass produced hybrid car which
was brilliantly timed. Toyota’s strategies shifted for specific target groups. It launched
many more variety cars that ranges from pickup truck to more of a passenger vehicle to
several sports and affordable cars, targeting young adults.
 Action Takings and learnings-: Continuous improvements and mastery of lean
manufacturing is the reason behind its success. It focused on increasing its productivity and
making operational changes according to market responsiveness each year. Toyota also
focused on different problem-solving techniques and to improve processes. Today Toyota
offers a full line of case to global market from family Sedan to trucks and minivans. In
2013, it earned more than 22 trillion yen and became the world largest carmaker.
 Question/Answer
Q1. Toyota has built a huge manufacturing capacity that can produce millions of cars each
year for a wide variety of consumers. Why was it able to become so much bigger than any
other auto manufacturer?

 Ans1. Toyota was able to be biggest auto manufacturer because of the following reasons
 Product differentiation: Toyota has consistently been a dependable car brand for many years
now, because of its superior quality and reliability. It provides high quality products that help
in differentiating Toyota cars in the market. Also it offers option of customization to its
customers.
 Modernization and Innovation: Toyota has always focused on modernization and
Innovation. It has infused timely innovation and improvisation to achieve best outputs. The
launch of Prius, the first mass produced clean-energy hybrid car was perfectly timed. Over the
next decade, other brands followed Prius with models of their own.
 Product line length: Toyota has strengthened its product line by following line filling and line
stretching. Hence they are always capable in filling the market gaps, coping up with the changes
in market trends and as a result they are able to reduce competition.
 Covering market segments: It focuses on every segment of society by creating a giant network
of integrated assembly plants. Tatsuo Yoshida, auto analyst at Deutsche Securities Ltd. says “If
there’s a market or market segment where they aren’t present, they go there. Like Toyota also
launched vehicles for specific target groups, like the Scion for young adults.
 Luxury brand marketing: Definition of luxury brand varies from country to country and hence
requires different marketing strategies. Thus depending on variant cultures of Europe and US,
Toyota accordingly advertises its luxury brand cars.
 Profit & Cost analysis: Toyota has ensured to cover all its losses and maintaining the brand’s
position in the automobile market. They also analyzed that their innovation of hybrid cars have a
scope of future profitability.
Q2. Has Toyota done the right thing by manufacturing a car brand for
everyone? Why or why not?

 Ans2. Yes, Toyota has done right thing by manufacturing a car brand for everyone because of following reasons:-  
 Catering customers worldwide :- Toyota is present in more than 170 countries. Consumers have different tastes and
preferences in these areas. Therefore it becomes essential to have a range of car because only one car cannot cater to
demand of all customers’ class.
 Diversifying enhances revenue :- Having cars in different segments helps the business to diversify and grow. Also, it
allows the customer base of the company to grow, hence enhancing their revenues. 
 Provides more choices:- Giving more choices to the customers increases the probability that they will buy car from
our company.
  Catering to all the age groups:-Toyota’s customer base is spread over many age categories therefore they need to
come up with cars for every age bracket to satisfy the demand.
  To remain competitive:-Competitors of Toyota like General Manager, Ford, and Suzuki are diversified and present
in almost all the segments. Therefore it becomes all the more important to diversify and built better car or they would
suffer losses as the competition is tough.
 Conclusion
The Toyota is leading company in the Japan and well reputed in the world automobile
industry. The company has built trust and confidence with customer by delivering
outstanding quality products and services. Toyota’s strategy of targeting all segment of the
market in the world and producing differentiation and cost leadership product to get more
market share in automobile industry. The strength of the company is its diversified product
range, highly targeted marketing and a commitment to lean manufacturing and quality.
Toyota has been so successful because of its efficient manufacturing approaches, that today
Toyota Corolla is the most sold car in the world.