When it comes to the design and development of new vehicles, executives in North America will soon have a greater influence over their Japanese bosses. According to Toyota Dealer Chicago, The move comes in the wake the quality crisis that plagued the automaker last year.
New vehicles produced and even “designed and developed” in North America had previously been overseen by a chief engineer in Nagoya, said Toyota Dealer Maryland. However, Toyota has introduced a new system where the Japanese engineer would be taken out of that process.
“We are going to implement the process from design to preparation for production to development, cost planning, and identifying and selecting suppliers,” said Yoshi Inaba, CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. “All these processes are going to be 100 percent done here, without going back to Japan for approval.”
Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda ultimately wants specific regions to have more authority and control. It’s believed that greater regional authority will be crucial in improving overall quality.
“This is going to be a powerful improvement in timing and design,” Inaba said. “We will keep [Japan] informed, but they are not part of the decision process…especially with pricing and profit-loss.”
Toyota Dealer Dallas said the new process of design and development will not affect the all-new Toyota Camry, which is already slated to arrive this fall. But the change will come in time for future models, such as the next Tundra full-size pickup.
“We have had little contact in updating [Japan], in terms of specifications and varieties,” Inaba said. “Then we get close to launch, and we think, ‘We should have done this or that.’ [The new structure] will make us more responsive to the market, and market change, during that time.”
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