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The world top car producer Toyota suffered under an endless number of recalls. The Japanese colossus was pushing its luck but was brought back to earth very soon. From January 12 to February 24, Toyota recalled 3.24 million cars from Japan, the USA, China and Europe. In addition to the withdrawals in 2009, Toyota has recalled 13.81 million cars. That number is even larger than last year’s sales amount. That should make the staff of Toyota aware of the fact that that their work last year was done in vain.
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, and his team immediately tried to make the best out of a bad job. Apologies, bows and tears; people all around the world witnessed this amateur car racer’s efforts in saving Toyota’s image. But will they succeed? We don’t know.
It did not take long than Honda joined the team of recalling. Suddenly a shadow was cast over the manufacturing industry, which Japan had been proud of for years and which had helped this country to recover from the Second World War. Once upon a time, every young man in the world longed for a Walkman or Play Station from Sony; the cranes from Mitsubishi and Isuzu were popular all over the world; the Toyota and Honda vehicles seized a big market share which used to belong to the US and European auto makers. “Made in Japan” used to be the top class of global manufacturing. But lately the seed of mistrust has been planted in the minds of the consumers and “Made in Japan” might not live up to its name anymore.
“Too fast!” That’s how Akio Toyoda described the development of Toyota. In the last couple of years, Toyota has been striving to be the No.1 auto maker in the world. Even though he managed to hold that title in 2008 the crown weighs heavy. The No.1 title made all its German and American peers long for catching up with him; and in order to be the best you can not allow yourself any mistakes. When the recalling event happened, the US secretary of transportation Ray LaHood immediately advised the US citizens not to buy Toyota cars any more. This was seen as a revenge for the Japanese cars nibbling on the US auto market.
Toyota’s experience is only an epitome of “Made in Japan”. After the World War II, the Japanese manufacturing industry was developing at a fast pace, earning great fame for Japan and helping this country to stand on its own feet again and recover from the destruction of the war. But during that process, doubt came up that the development was going too fast to be controlled and that the Japanese industry would focus too much on quantity and too little on quality.
Now take a close look at China, a neighboring country of Japan. It is experiencing the fastest development pace in the world and is seeking a way to become the most developed country in the world. But the country is young and inexperienced. Is it possible that Chinas industry will share the fate of Toyota?
Such worries are reasonable. China exports shoes and tires; Chinese computers and mobile phones are being sold in the foreign shops; “Made in china” adorns cars on the foreign streets. But doubts and complaints are getting louder about the quality of the products from China. “Made in China” is growing, but only the flawless products with high quality can really earn fame and respect for a country’s manufacturing whereas low quality products just ruin the reputation.
And furthermore, China does not have companies from the size of Toyota. The country is missing technology as advanced as Japan. So if the same thing happened to China the consequences might be even more disastrous than in Japan.
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, and his team immediately tried to make the best out of a bad job. Apologies, bows and tears; people all around the world witnessed this amateur car racer’s efforts in saving Toyota’s image. But will they succeed? We don’t know.
It did not take long than Honda joined the team of recalling. Suddenly a shadow was cast over the manufacturing industry, which Japan had been proud of for years and which had helped this country to recover from the Second World War. Once upon a time, every young man in the world longed for a Walkman or Play Station from Sony; the cranes from Mitsubishi and Isuzu were popular all over the world; the Toyota and Honda vehicles seized a big market share which used to belong to the US and European auto makers. “Made in Japan” used to be the top class of global manufacturing. But lately the seed of mistrust has been planted in the minds of the consumers and “Made in Japan” might not live up to its name anymore.
“Too fast!” That’s how Akio Toyoda described the development of Toyota. In the last couple of years, Toyota has been striving to be the No.1 auto maker in the world. Even though he managed to hold that title in 2008 the crown weighs heavy. The No.1 title made all its German and American peers long for catching up with him; and in order to be the best you can not allow yourself any mistakes. When the recalling event happened, the US secretary of transportation Ray LaHood immediately advised the US citizens not to buy Toyota cars any more. This was seen as a revenge for the Japanese cars nibbling on the US auto market.
Toyota’s experience is only an epitome of “Made in Japan”. After the World War II, the Japanese manufacturing industry was developing at a fast pace, earning great fame for Japan and helping this country to stand on its own feet again and recover from the destruction of the war. But during that process, doubt came up that the development was going too fast to be controlled and that the Japanese industry would focus too much on quantity and too little on quality.
Now take a close look at China, a neighboring country of Japan. It is experiencing the fastest development pace in the world and is seeking a way to become the most developed country in the world. But the country is young and inexperienced. Is it possible that Chinas industry will share the fate of Toyota?
Such worries are reasonable. China exports shoes and tires; Chinese computers and mobile phones are being sold in the foreign shops; “Made in china” adorns cars on the foreign streets. But doubts and complaints are getting louder about the quality of the products from China. “Made in China” is growing, but only the flawless products with high quality can really earn fame and respect for a country’s manufacturing whereas low quality products just ruin the reputation.
And furthermore, China does not have companies from the size of Toyota. The country is missing technology as advanced as Japan. So if the same thing happened to China the consequences might be even more disastrous than in Japan.