This year has certainly been tumultuous for the auto industry. Even though Toyota became the world’s largest automaker, it too has seen tough times due to dwindling auto sales. But despite challenges in numerous auto markets, it has continued to be a sales leader through the first half of this year.
From January through June, Toyota has sold 3.56 million vehicles, with GM trailing at 3.55 million vehicles. But with GM losing brands and losing sales, Toyota Lexington points out that Toyota has other adversaries that are making headway, including Volkswagen which has sold 3.1 million vehicles in the first half of 2009.
Capacity is not one of Toyota’s problems. Already Toyota has trimmed production, and closures of production facilities are looming. One facility that will be closing is NUMMI, a joint venture with GM based in Fremont, CA that has been responsible for the production of the Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, and Toyota Tacoma.
Meanwhile, Toyota also has a plant in Mississippi that has yet to be completed, but the closure of NUMMI will certainly alleviate overcapacity issues suggests personnel among Los Angeles area Toyota dealers. Aside from production, marketing and sales operations are also being scrutinized at Toyota following a shuffling of management which has included the appointment of new chief Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder.
Although Toyota has plenty of cash in reserves, it appears to be getting a bit sparse. With auto sales continuing to disappoint, Toyota is hoping to remain number one going into the second half of this tough year. With the immense popularity of the third generation Prius at several San Diego Toyota Prius dealers and the success of new Lexus models, Toyota still possess plenty of strengths.
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Track Toyota’s wins and losses on this Toyota blog.
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