From The Economist
By the end of the year, Toyota is set to edge past General Motors (GM) with forecast group sales of 9.34m vehicles compared with GM's 9.29m. At the same time, it will decisively push Ford into third place in the crucial North American market. ...
The danger Toyota faces is that two of the very things that have made it so successful—the rock-solid reliability of its products and its reputation for making fuel-efficient, greenish vehicles—are threatened by the need to keep feeding its phenomenal growth.
It's too early to consider Toyota a victim of its own success. It appears that Toyota will be the only credible automotive titan on the global stage in a short while. When one looks at the competition Toyota may face, it looks as if they may be the only serious global player left.
ReplyDeleteAt this stage, GM and the exploitive unions it has empowered are to blame for GM losing the mantle of the largest auto-maker by output. Similar things can be said about Ford and Chrysler. Nissan is owned by the French, enough said there, and all other large auto makers not under the gun, seem tertiary in size and scope when contrasted against Toyota.
If fuel prices continue to increase won't Toyota see the demand for their well-appointed, yet relatively economical compact car line expand. Additionally, Toyota's edge in peddling greenish auto's to self-righteous out-of-touch liberal elites seems to only be growing as Toyota's luxury division Lexus is increasing its green offerings.
While not perfect Toyota seems to be blending the trifecta of qualities this blog post questions better than any other major automaker.