Global leaders have somehow found it difficult to crack the indian market. can the 'quality' icon find a way to emerge as a powerhouse in one of the fastest growing auto markets? By pawan chabra
When the going gets tough, the tough gets quirky! Don’t believe us? Check out the New ‘special red’ colour of the Toyota FT-86 coupe. It is a special red, called shoujyouhi red, and is inspired by the traditional red colour of a Japanese monkey’s… err... backside!
With General Motors filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and registering falling sales numbers month after month, it paved the road for Toyota Motor Corporation to become the world’s largest automaker. But humbling Detroit is passé. In the midst of recession, Toyota itself is looking for a generous dose of inspiration. It’s new President Akio Toyoda has in fact been extremely self critical of the manner in which his company seemed to have lost its ability to put some excitement into its products. He even went on record to state, “It is us – the automakers – who have abandoned our passion for cars (refusing to blame the customers for the decline in sales and profitability in US).” The FT-86 coupe perhaps is an interesting effort in terms of re-igniting that passion!
Year 2008 saw major ups and downs in the global standings of automotive companies. In fact, the year gone by saw many giants literally on their knees. Be it GM, Chrysler or Ford, all three Detroit leaders drove through the bumpy road with a lot of hiccups. However, the scenario was equally bad at Toyota, Japan as the company was also moving forward in a state of discomfort; accounting for negative growth month after month on a yoy comparison. In fact, the company has already forecasted a net loss of $5 billion (Rs.232.5 billion) for the year ending March 2010 after it posted a loss of $4.4 billion in 2008-09, its first in 71 years. Nevertheless, experts still swear by the company’s quality standards and its ability to fight back.
Besides re-igniting a passion for great cars, Toyota seriously needs to re-ignite its passion for futuristic markets like India. The company’s Indian arm, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) is the most trusted brand for quality in the Indian automotive industry.
When the going gets tough, the tough gets quirky! Don’t believe us? Check out the New ‘special red’ colour of the Toyota FT-86 coupe. It is a special red, called shoujyouhi red, and is inspired by the traditional red colour of a Japanese monkey’s… err... backside!
With General Motors filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and registering falling sales numbers month after month, it paved the road for Toyota Motor Corporation to become the world’s largest automaker. But humbling Detroit is passé. In the midst of recession, Toyota itself is looking for a generous dose of inspiration. It’s new President Akio Toyoda has in fact been extremely self critical of the manner in which his company seemed to have lost its ability to put some excitement into its products. He even went on record to state, “It is us – the automakers – who have abandoned our passion for cars (refusing to blame the customers for the decline in sales and profitability in US).” The FT-86 coupe perhaps is an interesting effort in terms of re-igniting that passion!
Year 2008 saw major ups and downs in the global standings of automotive companies. In fact, the year gone by saw many giants literally on their knees. Be it GM, Chrysler or Ford, all three Detroit leaders drove through the bumpy road with a lot of hiccups. However, the scenario was equally bad at Toyota, Japan as the company was also moving forward in a state of discomfort; accounting for negative growth month after month on a yoy comparison. In fact, the company has already forecasted a net loss of $5 billion (Rs.232.5 billion) for the year ending March 2010 after it posted a loss of $4.4 billion in 2008-09, its first in 71 years. Nevertheless, experts still swear by the company’s quality standards and its ability to fight back.
Besides re-igniting a passion for great cars, Toyota seriously needs to re-ignite its passion for futuristic markets like India. The company’s Indian arm, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) is the most trusted brand for quality in the Indian automotive industry.
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