Japan and Toyota

Japan and Toyota

Tony Entsminger

Week 4

Global Marketing

When you hear the brand Toyota you immediately think of Japan. The first successful Toyota vehicles were produced in 1936. Japan was getting tired of relying on exports as their vehicle of choice and new that if they created their own vehicle they would be able to use it for military purposes as well. Sakichi Toyoda was the founder of the Toyota Company. From 1936 to 1943, only 1,757 cars were made. Toyoda found more success building trucks and busses because of the war that was going on.

In December 1945, Toyota was given permission by the United States military to startup up peacetime production. Toyota Motor Corporation had learned from the American War Department’s industrial training program, which worked on process improvement and employee development; the program, abandoned in 1945 by the United States, lived on in Japan as Taiichi Ohno built kaizen and lean manufacturing around it.

I used to sell cars for over a year and I found that Toyotas were usually one of the most expensive vehicles on the lot. When buying a new Toyota the customer usually got some kind of good warranty package because the Toyota Company felt their vehicles value was great and they would offer a warranty on their products because if something did go wrong, didn’t happen much, they would fix it at no cost. Toyotas have a reputation for holding their value long after expected. The reason for this is because the factories that make the vehicles are very strict and make sure they do not miss deficiencies on the production line.

If you ever travel to Japan take a look around in all directions. One thing is for sure you will be guaranteed to find more than one Toyota in the immediate area. Toyota is a local brand in Japan. Locals do a great job at supporting local business and keeping their own economy booming. Another thing to think about, is Toyota vehicles are probably much cheaper in Japan due to the fact they do not have to incorporate an import fee like the rest of the world. The customers can buy them directly from the business in Japan. When Toyota first start producing vehicles they would make them at very low rates per year only in the hundreds but by 1955, Toyota was making 8,400 cars per year and by 1965, 600,000 cars per year. Motor vehicles did not really become popular until the 50’s.