Prius Could Be Built in U.S. -- Someday
By Michelle Krebs January 11, 2011
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda attended his first-ever Detroit auto show - his first U.S auto show, for that matter - because he wanted to personally unveil the new variant of the Prius hybrid and announce the establishment of a safety research center in Michigan.
Toyoda said hinted that the automaker would at some point resurrect its plan to build the Prius in the United States when sales grow.
Toyota had originally planned to build it at its new plant in Mississippi but now will produce the Corolla there . Still, Toyoda noted, the Prius is one of the automaker's four pillars for the States, which also include the Corolla, Camry and trucks, all built here already as part of Toyota's build them where they are sold business philosophy.
The new Prius variant, introduced at the Detroit auto show today, is more of a people-mover than the Prius classic with its added length and higher roof.
Toyoda acknowledged Toyota suffered damage from the 2010 recalls that involved millions of vehicles but predicted that damage will be short term because of Toyota's strong history and the actions it as taken as a result of the recalls and subsequent negative publicity.
"We learned a great deal in 2010," Toyoda told media at an invite-only briefing.
The grandson of the automaker's founder, Toyoda illustrated the care the automaker will take in the future in building its cars. He held up a pre-packaged rice ball that can be purchased at Japan convenience stores by the masses and compared them with handmade ones, like those made by mothers for their children in Japan with their "heart and soul."
Going forward, Toyota will produce its vehicles with the same care that mothers make their rice balls for their children, he said, emphatically insisting Toyota cars are safe.
Toyota announced Monday that it would add a "collaborative" safety center in Michigan, where it already has a research and development facility near Ann Arbor.
Toyoda and other Toyota executives insisted much has changed within the automaker as a result of the 2010 recalls. While they would not say absolutely that such a crisis could not happen again, they did say it would be handled differently today than it was.
U.S. sales chief Jim Lentz admitted Toyota was talking with customers but not listening well about product and other issues, had no crisis plant in place , had a poor relationship with federal regulators, all of which have been rectified. In the past, the U.S. arm of Toyota was an antenna for issues and reported them to Japan. "Now we have a seat at the decision -making table."
Americans now run all but one of Toyota's U.S. plants and three of its chief engineers are American so that U.S. interests are better represented within Toyota's hierarchy.
Steve St. Angelo, appointed as Toyota's quality chief during the recall crisis, quipped: "If this kind of thing happens again - I hope it happens to someone else!"
Beyond safety and recalls, Toyoda vowed future Toyota models will be better looking than current ones. "We are preoccupied with vehicle offerings that are emotional and exciting," he said.
To that end, he dismissed rumors that Toyota's Scion youth brand could be eliminated due to poor sales. He insisted there will be no change in the status of Scion within the Toyota family.
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