Toyota Economic and Recall Crisis Research Paper

Toyota Economic and Recall Crisis - Research Paper Example Toyota has 522 subsidiaries, more than 320,000 staff worldwide, more than 12 Japanese factories, and more than 51 locations in 26 countries. As of 2009, Toyota faced a crisis that almost brought about its down fall. The company had earlier faced an economic crisis that started in 2007 spreading across auto industries worldwide. Consequently, in March 2008, the company recorded its first ever loss after 70 years. Other problems that have faced Toyota include the problem with acceleration in 2009 that led to a recall of millions of vehicles. As a result of this, consumer attitudes towards the brand changed. In January 2010, complaints from customers continued and the number of recalls continued to rise. This continued through April 2010, causing a further drop in customer’s feelings towards the brand. In an attempt to retain its customers, and maintain its position as the number one global auto industry, Toyota changed its motto to â€Å"Moving Forward!† Through this, the company communicated its desire to create a new and better beginning. Gradually, the company has been gaining positive disposition from its customers. Today, Toyota has been able to rise again, even though it has lost its number one spot. Keywords: Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Production System, Manufacturers, Crisis, Automobile, Auto-maker, Gas Pedals, Acceleration, Recalls For many years, Toyota Motor Corporation has been the biggest automobile manufacturer in the world. It also is a leading advocate eco-friendly and technological cars. The company has exported millions of vehicles worldwide. Through this, it earned the reputation of being the best automobile manufacturer and exporter. Since 2007, the company has however faced a number of problems affecting both its reputation and positive customer disposition. Today, the company has however gradually regained its reputation. Toyota Motor Company was established in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda. In 1952, the company rapidly grew becoming successful (Borowski, 2010). Initially, the company exported its vehicles to South America. After five years, it was able to penetrate markets in North America. Having sold its products in North America, Toyota was able to penetrate the United States market in the business of exporting automobiles. Borowski (2010) points out that â€Å"In 1982, Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales Company joined forces to Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)† ( p.3). â€Å"The company now has 522 subsidiaries, 320,808 staff worldwide and is producing not only in the 12 Japanese factories but also in 51 other locations in 26 countries† (Borowski, 2010, p.3). In 2007, Toyota Motor Corporation had the highest share price value among all car-manufacturers. In, 2008, Toyota made an annual turnover worth billions of United States dollars after selling millions of vehicles.. Consequently, the company gained the status of being the biggest manufacturer of automobiles. This has however changed due to the financial crisis that began in 2007, damaging Toyota’s image, and also due to over sticking gas pedals that led to many recalls worldwide. According to Ohno, a structure of theories and procedures for improving collaborative strength known as the Toyota Production System is used at Toyota to maintain the company’s productivity, and at the same time, ensure that customers are satisfied with the quality and efficient delivery of vehicles (1998). The production of Toyota automobiles evolved from Henry Ford’s historic manufacturing systems. Herny Ford manufacturing system thus paved way for the foundation of the Toyota Production System. Due to conditions in Japan, there was inherent need to make considerable improvements to Ford’