Toyota's Inaba Looks To Spice Up Models, Revive Scion, Reshape Lexus, Turn a Profit
July 24, 2009
Making Toyota's North American operations profitable again is the top prioity of the
new boss, Yoshimi Inaba. That's why he was sent back to the U.S. by new Toyota global chief, Akio Toyoda.
But that won't happen for awhile. Inaba told reporters in Detroit Thursday that Toyota in North America will not be profitable in this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2010, but just might eke out a profit in the following fiscal year, depending on industry sales.
On the job just over a week, Inaba said he's looking at short-term, quick fixes but also studying long-term solutions to Toyota North America's financial woes.
"There is no dramatic reorganization or consolidation of our North American operations planned, but I do hope to create a stronger and better integrated regional business that can make faster decisions based on local needs," he said.
On the Product Front
Inaba said he has marching orders directly from Akio Toyoda, who Inaba describes "as even more of a car enthusiast than I am," to fire up passion for vehicles throughout Toyota.
"I'll be careful to choose my words," Inaba chuckled to reporters, "but I can see standing on the sidelines that there is not enough excitement in our vehicles."
Though short on specifics, Inaba, who is on his second U.S. tour of duty for Toyota, gave as an example the passion that once existed for the Toyota FJ Cruiser, a vehicle in which he participated in its development. He noted that FJ Cruisers could be seen on the roads of countries where Toyota didn't officially sell them because consumers absolutely had to have them.
Inaba says he has particular passion for the Scion and Lexus brands, as he was head of Toyota's U.S. operations when the automaker launched Scion and expanded Lexus' line.
He vows to "revive the Scion spirit." Despite a recent sales plunge, Scion remains a good business model but requires more than its current trio of vehicles and needs more frequent product freshening, Inaba said.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Inaba is reviewing how to re-shape Lexus, which has also seen dramatic sales drops, for the future. "We have to figure out what is Lexus here in the U.S. ... and what is the next phase of Lexus," he said, adding that doesn't necessarily mean selling more than the current 300,000 a year.
On the Factory Front
Inaba said building Scion and Lexus models as well as the Toyota Prius hybrid in the U.S. are possibilities as Toyota attempts to become more American by building well over the current 60 percent of vehicles it builds in the U.S.
However, with the current low rate of sales, Toyota has an excess of factory capacity in North America, which is being examined.
On Thursday, Toyota in Japan announced it planned to dissolve its California joint venture with General Motors. GM, during its bankruptcy proceedings, said it would end production of the Pontiac Vibe in August at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant as it winds down the Pontiac brand. Further, GM executives have said they could find no other model suitable to build there.
Inaba said Toyota has not yet decided what to do with a plant it built in Mississippi but never tooled. The plant, which at various times was going to build the Toyota Highlander or the Toyota Prius, was mothballed when car sales nosedived. - By Michelle Krebs
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 12:01 PM under Featured , Personalities , Toyota | Comments (6) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
I'm a bit interested in a Scion xD but the fact that their sales are so far in the dumper (almost as bad as HUMMER, which takes the bottom rung on the sales charts) makes me wonder if they are going to pull the plug or not. Either way, resale will likely take a beating.
Posted by: steve_ | July 23, 2009 at 5:30 PM
"...I can see standing on the sidelines that there is not enough excitement in our vehicles."
Yay, maybe Toyota will finally bring back the Celica and Supra and start making sports cars again!
Posted by: 08_miata | July 23, 2009 at 5:34 PM
I don't care if Toyota makes dedicated sports cars, but it'd be nice if they breathed some life back into the Camry... it's become as lifeless and boring as the Buicks of old. And maybe a performance version of the Corolla. (And no, the current "S" model doesn't cut it.)
Posted by: guacamojo | July 24, 2009 at 7:48 AM
Toyota needs to inject some fun in their cars. Scion is stuck in the mud. No incentives to buy a single model. What are they thinking! Even Lexus gives you some.
Posted by: iskch | July 24, 2009 at 8:36 AM
Well. They could keep Toyota their mainstream brand. Inject a little more enthusiasm without losing that Toyota reputation that has made them sell well. Lexus is obviously their luxury brand, and should stay that way. But an expansion of the "F" designation to all of their models could add some excitement, and keep MB's AMG and BMW's M on their toes. And Scion. I'm not really sure about this one. They found their niche and have seemingly exhausted their consumer base. Maybe reinvention as a performance division -- drop the funky names, and bring back the Celica, Supra, MR2 -- is the route to take.
Posted by: greenpony | July 25, 2009 at 5:40 AM
I agree with expanding the F series but they will hardly keep BMW's M on their toes. This is Lexus we are talking off - minute sales in Europe. Only really sell the US only ES (pimped out Camry).
The Camry will take a hit since most mid-sized cars are as reliable and more interesting (from a design or driving perspective) such as the Subaru Legacy, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion.
It is interesting how people moan about GM not planning well. Toyota overspent on their San Antonio Tundra plant which is very under utilised and the Mississippi plant lying empty.
Posted by: guy1974 | July 25, 2009 at 1:57 PM