Introduction
The Toyota Motor Company has its headquarters in Japan and is one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers; the company was officially founded in 1937 with automobile manufacturing being its core business. Today Toyota owns many brands of cars and is a major shareholder in many motor companies. Toyota’s headquarters are in Aichi and Tokyo where the company not only manufactures automobiles but also provides financial services and manufactures robots main competitors are General Motors (GM), Honda, Mazda and other automobile companies.
Toyota’s history
Kiichiro Toyoda in 1933 directed the production of automobiles with his company being a partition of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Company. Toyoda’s motivation to develop automobiles came from a trip he had made to Europe and the United States in 1929, his aim for the visit was to learn more about auto mobiles. In the year 1934 Toyoda’s division manufactured Type A engine which was used to model the A1 passenger car and the G1 truck. Many models were developed later which included AA passenger, dodge power wagon, Chevrolet and many more.
Toyota Motor Company was recognized as a self-governing company in 1937 with the name ‘Toyota’ originating from the founder family’s name ‘Toyoda’. During World War II the company was dedicated to manufacturing trucks for the Japanese army. After the war was over the company embarked on the manufacturing of commercial passenger motor vehicles.
During the 1960s the company expanded widely and it established dealer chains and exported cars to the United States and Brazil. Toyota founded a new research centre and development plant in Thailand and continued with the production of better new models. During the 1960s Toyota established a partnership with Hino Motors and Daihatsu. In April 1963 the Toyota built its first model outside Japan in Australia and by the end of the decade it had exported its automobile models throughout the world.
SWOT Analysis
A company’s SWOT analysis mainly entails looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. One of Toyota’s strengths is its global network which spreads across about one hundred and seventy countries. The Company is financially stable with an annual sales turnover of more than a hundred and thirty million pounds. Toyota’s brand name is a very strong selling brand that reflects strength, resilience and durability. Quality products are another plus for the company which it is able to deliver efficiently. Another great strength that the company possesses is its state of the art research and development department that churns out newer car models daily. The company also has easy access to the major world markets because of its extensive global network.
Just like any other company, Toyota has its own share of weaknesses which include the perception as a foreign importer because it’s a Japanese manufacturer. Also Toyota manufactures most of its models in the United States and Japan while its competitors are located globally to take advantage of the automobile market. Quality has been a thorny issue for the company especially during the 2005 large scale production.
Opportunities that exist for Toyota Company include; Toyota’s innovation of gas and electric vehicles may give it a competitive advantage over other manufacturers considering the increasing cost of oil products. The company has also introduced the Aygo model which is intended to capture the youth market which is said to have a major influence. Toyota has embarked on the development of cars which use little fuel yet have greater performance and friendly to the environment. Lastly Toyota has continued in its global expansion trend especially where there’s and upward increase in the demand for its products.
The various threats that face Toyota as a company are; the increased competitive nature of other automobile manufacturers, alterations of exchange rates in the global market which affect its profit margin and raw material cost, alterations of demographics, alterations in car usage example companies restricting traveling due too use of tele-conferencing, and lastly the increase in oil prices and the increase in cost of car maintenance that decreases use or purchase.
Conclusion
Toyota has continued to be a trendsetter in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry. The company grew from its humble beginnings to become one of the most renowned world companies. In the third world countries especially in Africa its presence has spurred the growth of the economies; the transport sectors in these economies heavily rely on the cheap and durable second hand vehicles from the UAE and Japan.
Works cited
www.businessteacher.org.uk
www.toyota.com
www.news.bbc.co.uk
www.japacorp.net
www.calcars.org