In 2009 Toyota Motors (TM) posted a net loss of $4.6 billion ("Market watch," 2014). From 2009 to 2011 Toyota encountered a number of factors contributing to their economic downturn. It began with recalling millions of vehicles, for quality related problems, followed by natural disasters hitting northeastern Japan. These disasters wiped out Toyota’s production capabilities (Tabuchi & Vlasic, 2014). While these events were occurring, the cloud of the 2008 global financial crisis was still being felt. This crisis weakened demand in the automotive industry. This weakened demand increased the competitive landscape for all automotive manufactures. This drove down automotive prices and effectively contribution margins (i.e. sold less …show more content…
This analysis will determine whether or not the project is worth pursuing using a net present value (NPV) approach.
Assessment
Toyota was the pinnacle of quality in the 1990’s. Their use of “lean production” focused on eliminating waste and non-value added steps. This provided a competitive advantage surrounding cost and quality (Harmon, 2012). Toyota was viewed as a stable company by which investors could realize positive returns. In 2009 this pattern of stability was challenged. These challenges affected the overall brand value. Table 1 outlines the historical pricing of Toyota’s stock (TM) and associated market capitalization using close out prices from the end of each fiscal year.
Table 1 (Market watch, 2014) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Historical Stock Price ($) 84.16 78.63 66.13 93.25 121.92
Shares Outstanding (B) 3.14 3.14 3.14 3.14 3.17
Market Cap (B) 264.2624 246.8982 207.6482 292.805 386.4864
This information demonstrates how the challenges from 2009 to 2011 affected overall brand value. This information confirms Toyota’s new strategy supported revival in 2012.
Table 2 outlines the cash, debt and value positions. EV was calculated using the market cap value calculated from Table 1. This EV was then used to determine D/EV.
Table 2 (Market watch, 2014) 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Cash & Short Term Investments (T) 2.98 4.05 3.51 2.94 3.27
ST Debt & Current Portion LT Debt (T)
Toyota has hit the headlines over the years over the defects in several of their models which has sent it on a public relations and safety campaigns relating to its vehicles. Notably is the Toyota safety campaign in North America for certain models of Toyota as well as Lexus brands concerning the floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals, later on it extended to other models in November 2009.
Cole, R. E. (2011). What really happened to Toyota? MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(4), 29-35. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/875531966?accountid=27965
For my project I have chosen a Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) an international automobile manufacturer. In addition, Toyota provides retail and wholesale financing, retail leasing and certain other financial services primarily to its dealers and their customers related to vehicles manufactured by Toyota. The major portions of Toyota 's operations on a worldwide basis are derived from the Automotive and Financial Services business segments. The Company also has an All Other segment, which includes its non-automotive business activities. The most significant of Toyota 's other operations are its information technology (IT)-related businesses and pre-fabricated housing.
For more than 50 years, Toyota Motor Corporation has been one of the world’s leading manufacturers of motor vehicles in the United States. It was born a Japanese company in 1935 and came to America in 1957. Now headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, it employs more than 300 thousand employees globally (Toyota Motor Corporation Company Profile, 2012). In addition Toyota is a global marketing organization. It strategically operates primarily through Japan, Asia, Europe, and North America; but its vehicles are sold in more than 170 countries and regions across the globe (Toyota Motor Corporation Company Profile, 2012). The Toyota brand is traditionally defined by brand attributes such as global leadership, innovation,
Bailey, D. & Kim, S. (2010). Timeline: Toyota From Rise to Recall Crisis, Hearings. Business News. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/23/us-toyota-timeline-idUSTRE61M0IT20100223
This unfortunate series of events for Toyota came at the same time U.S. automakers Chrysler and General Motors where making a comeback from government bailouts received in 2009. Ford, Chrysler and General Motors have continued to see resurgence in sales while Toyota has continued to slump in its U.S. sales volume compared to sales in years prior to 2009.
Toyota is currently the biggest car maker in the world. Toyota’s production model has been for long the envy of Detroit’s big three and the benchmark for the auto industry. The auto market in the US has showed signs of improvement, a sign of encouragement for the company (Toyota History: Corporate and Automotive, 2011). Toyota has invested billions of dollars to develop manufacturing capabilities and supplier networks to supply those markets. Toyota has many comparative advantages over it peers: a strong operational model that generates high margins; a strong global brand synonymous for quality and a
or decades, Toyota’s success in the marketplace has been admired by business practitioners and executives alike. The automaker is the envy of others within the automobile industry, but the company is also considered to be the symbol of excellence in business in general. The firm has been the focus of research in academia. The power of Toyota has been attributed to its two distinct core values:
Bodek, Norman. “The Toyota Secret: Constant Change and Growth.” Industry Week. 8, Aug. 2007. .
The purpose of this report is to examine if the reasoning behind well-known car manufacturer, Toyota’s loss of revenue and leading market position is alone as a result of extensive product recalls following a fatal crash of a Lexus ES 350 on August 28th 2009. The journal article, “Toyota Crisis: Management Issue?” (Yuanyuan Feng 2010) provides an outline of the key factors that triggered the 2009 Toyota crisis, and explores whether the fall in the company’s returns by 19% were caused purely as a result of the recall and safety concerns, or something much deeper.
(1) Although there were external powers such as mass media that forced Toyota working even harder on the crisis, it was Toyota itself that asks for most of its own misfortunes when they lost quality focus in the rapid global expansion and failed to effectively
Currently recession is prevailing in the market so the global car sale of Toyota is showing a downward trend. Also changes in interest rates, inflation and currency rates can act both as a threat and an opportunity. Inflation rates differ from country to country for instance in Japan the inflation rate is relatively low as compared to USA. The lower the interest rate, the better its for Toyota since the
Toyota is a key player in global automotive market. Its structure constitutes if various production plants in different locations and a very strong branding which helps it capture a major market share. Like other enterprises, Toyota has several strengths and weakness which makes it what it is now. Toyota heavily invests in Research and development which helps it come up reputable product line which is spread out throughout the world because of its strengthening global distribution network however its recent product recalling, loose grip in key geographic areas and wrong allocation of resources shows that even a strong brand like Toyota has its weaknesses.
It has been created also a gap between Image and Vision. After the crisis Toyota's relationship with its main stakeholders (suppliers, national and international customers, employees, dealers and investors) was not so strong as before, because it was loosing its reputation. The investors and the suppliers were complaining because recalling million of vehicles, and the customers were disappointed because they were not receiving what they expected.
One potential threat for Volkswagen is that Toyota may respond strategically by also cutting its prices. However, given Toyota’s quality problems over the past year, they will not be able to lower prices, as this possibly would create the perception of lower quality.. First and foremost, Toyota needs to ensure it handles its quality problems to its customers’ satisfaction. The auto maker needs to ensure the public perception is that Toyota is being upfront, honest, and responsible in dealing with recalls and the