Essay on Toyota

1. What is the role in society, the size, growth and evolution of the auto industry?
The automobile industry has made a great impact on society, on our life style and on the way the business operates. This industry defines not only community, but the other industries as well.

2. How have the Japanese auto manufacturers led category innovation?
Toyota believes that innovation is a revolution. This approach helped it to become the leader in innovations, starting from 1966s, with first small Japanese sedan called Toyota Corolla that has become the best-selling car of all times. Toyota’s corporate culture, design and manufacturing process are structured to quickly respond to the market needs.

3. What is Toyota Motor marketing position in the United States for the hybrid vehicle category?
The attaining of leadership in the hybrid electric vehicle segment depends first of all on the innovation technologies, design, price policy and correct marketing communications. Toyota Motor Company is the current leader of this industry with more than 3.0 million hybrids sold by February 2011. According to the latest sales data Toyota Prius is the top selling hybrid in both the U.S. and Japanese markets and the sales have reached 2.0 million in September 30, 2010.

4. What advantages does the Toyota Motor Company have for sustaining leadership in this category?
Toyota Motor Company is a definite leader of HEV category. Among the advantages of its leadership we can mention the great sales and its trendsetter role in the auto industry. Toyota sets its own rules in this new category that evolves from niche to mass, form customers’ expectations and builds a new environmentally oriented culture.

5. How has it addressed the cost disadvantage of HEVs, relative to conventional engine cars? What steps Toyota taken to ensure it will have sustaining competitive advantages over competitors as the category becomes more popular?
The emphasis is made on the benefits for the customer and environment, but not on the cost disadvantage. The most important condition of sustaining competitive advantages over competitors is to be a few steps ahead of its competitors and to introduce innovations on the market earlier than other companies.

6. Contrast Toyota’s approach to competitors in the HEV category.
The reason of Toyota’s success in the HEV category, comparing to its competitors such as General Motors, Ford, Honda, is that Toyota decided to integrate this new technology into development of all their new vehicles, completely changing the technology and the future of the auto industry.

7. What are the challenges for the HEV category to become a mainstream standard?
Toyota is aimed to completely change the future of the vehicles and technology, it has a strategy to make the HEV a mainstream standard. Therefore it creates awareness about HEV new product and builds its strategic advantages over traditional cars.

8. How is Toyota introducing and sustaining the Prius brand entry through marketing communications?
Toyota communicates Prius connecting it with the “green” culture, harmony and environmental issues in its advertising spots. Their advertising is full of positive and bright notes.

9. What are U.S. consumer attitudes towards fuel-efficient vehicles?
According to the researches, US consumer attitude towards fuel-efficient vehicles is positive. Actually about ninety percent of the audience stated that they are prepared and want to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles instead of traditional ones. Toyota was impressed that 75 percent of the audience were informed about HEV quite well.