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http://www.autonews.com/article/2017...gement-shuffle

Toyota sounds 'now or never' alarm with management shuffle

November 28, 2017 @ 12:03 am

Hans Greimel

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TOKYO -- Sounding one of his most dire warnings yet about the rapidly changing auto industry, Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda is shuffling top management to tackle what the automaker calls a “now or never” competition “about surviving or dying” in the new era.

The moves, announced Tuesday in Tokyo, take effect Jan. 1 and inject more diversity into top leadership to handle new demands in electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity.

The changes aim to tighten ties with Toyota Group companies, such as suppliers Denso Corp. and Toyota Tsusho Corp., and bring in expertise that Toyota Motor currently lacks.

The overhaul also promotes new perspectives by elevating a woman to a top leadership role in the Lexus luxury brand and by promoting more non-Japanese at executive levels.

Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder, is stoking a crisis mindset at Toyota Motor in a bid to keep the giant company nimble and responsive to cataclysmic change besetting the industry, from a rush of new technologies to new competitors from Silicon Valley and China.

“Surrounded by changes of unprecedented speed and scale, TMC is aware it faces a ‘now or never’ situation in which not a moment can be spared,” the company said in a statement outlining the appointments. Toyoda echoed the alarm in his personal comments.

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“Over the next 100 years, there is no guarantee that automobile manufacturers will continue to play leading roles in mobility,” Toyoda said. “A crucial battle has begun -- not one about winning or losing, but one about surviving or dying.”

The shuffle is part of a new organizational structure Toyoda introduced last year.

To speed decision-making and unleash creativity, Toyoda broke the Japanese parent company into subcompanies empowered to act as self-contained units. The goal is to replicate the streamlined operations of the Silicon Valley startups triggering so much angst.

“This is an era in which the correct answers are unknown,” Toyoda said. “This change includes the appointment of people with high levels of expertise, regardless of time with the company or age and from the perspective of having the right people in the right places.”

Added Toyoda: “We need to have people who understand the workplace well enough to lead with quick judgment, quick decisions and quick action.”

Group expertise

Some of the management changes tighten ties with Toyota Group companies.

Denso Corp., for instance, is sending its vice chairman, Koji Kobayashi, to become Toyota’s new CFO. Brake maker Advics Co. is sending its president, Satoshi Ogiso, back to Toyota to be president of its commercial vehicle company. Ogiso previously worked at Toyota, where he was known for his work on the automaker’s trademark hybrid technology.

Meanwhile, trading company Toyota Tsusho Corp. will send Executive Officer Toshimitsu Imai to serve as a managing officer and CEO in charge of Toyota’s Africa regional operations.

Other changes bring in outside expertise.
A managing director at Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Akihiro Fukutome, will join Toyota Motor as CEO of Toyota Financial Services.

Gill Pratt, the American computer whiz who heads the Silicon Valley-based Toyota Research Institute, assumes a newly created position of “fellow” at the parent company in Japan.

A fellow shares the same status as executive vice president. The title is reserved for the “ultimate level of technical expertise” within the company, a spokesman said.

Pratt is the first fellow; others are expected to be added later, Toyota said.



DiversityGender diversity is further promoted with the appointment of engineer Chika Kako to the role of executive vice president at Lexus International Co. She was Toyota’s first female chief engineer and served in that role on the Lexus CT hybrid hatchback. Globalization also gets a boost with the advancement of two non-Japanese.

Designer Simon Humphries moves from Toyota Europe Design Development to the parent company as executive general manager for design at the Advanced R&D and Engineering Co.

American Michael Sweers, chief engineer of the Tacoma and Tundra pickups and the Sequoia and 4Runner SUVs, was also appointed executive general manager, at the commercial vehicle subcompany. He is stationed in Japan with a staff in that country and in North America.

The executive general manager positions were created in April as hubs of technical expertise.

Among other appointments, Senior Managing Officer Shigeki Tomoyama was elevated to executive vice president and adds more responsibility to his already wide portfolio.

Tomoyama will now be chief officer of the Toyota Production System Group, on top of his duties as chief information security officer, president of the Gazoo Racing and Connected companies and chief officer of the Information Systems and Business Development groups.

Senior Managing Officer Moritaka Yoshida, currently president of the Mid-size Vehicle Company, which oversees nameplates such as the Camry sedan, will also be promoted to executive vice president. In that role, he adds responsibilities for the TNGA Management Division, which coordinates work on the carmaker’s new modular vehicle platform.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Toys4RJill

Toyota has completely missed their prediction about electric cars. All of their hybrids should be plug in at this time and place.

mk416

How it feels to be dominated by Hyundai and KIA.

mjeds

why? what benefit does a plug in have over a more traditional hybrid? you offset paying for gas with increased electrical bills, at some point there won't be someone offsetting the electrical fees with subsidies, and your electrical rates will sky rocket, as it stands the cost of electricity across the U.S. has increased an average of 3.2% per year since 2010, and on the far west coast (CA, OR, WA) it has been 10.7% and the far east coast (New England States) it has been 11.8%. the average cost across the U.S. is not around 14.5 cents per kilowatt, where just 7 years ago it was 10.64,

having had both, a plug in Volt for several months, and a traditional hybrid Camry for 10+ years, I didn't see much difference, based on my commute, it cost me ~$50 per month in electrical fees to charge the Volt (12.9kWh) from full dead to full charge 6 days a week at the subsidized rate, plus another $22 in fuel, The Camry costs ~$85 a month in fuel to drive the same distance. So a difference of $13-$15 a month or $180 a year..

My old (2007) Camry Hybrid got 42 mpg in the city/highway , it costs me 1 gallon to drive it to work and back so about $2.50 in fuel... The 2011 volt got 35ish miles to an electric charge so roughly 14kWh times 15.5 cents per kWh so about $2.00 in electric, and I had to fill the tank at least once a month because my commute is just over 38 miles, so the last 3 miles every day was on gas only, with a 9 gallon tank, it lasted about 5.5 weeks before needing fuel, so basically $22 a month at $2.50 a gallon.

these are real world comparisons, not some funky calculator on a website, the reality (to me) is that plug-in doesn't offer that much of a savings over traditional hybrids but yet fetch a premium price making them more expensive to own in that regard.

We are on our second Camry Hybrid, and the 2017 gets 50 plus mpg, our experience with both the 2007 and the 2017 has been it gets more MPG than advertised.

Now we in CA are faced with higher registration fees and fuel taxes as a result of the hybrid technologies and higher MPG requirements, as the tax revenue from fuel sales has dropped off significantly so our wonderful leaders need to steal it from somewhere else, and several States are now looking into taxing drivers for the distances they travel because of the drop off.

The fact is, there is no real savings between ICE, Hybrid, plug-in, and Full Electric in the long run, the only real difference is who you are paying your money to for the privilege of driving your car, be it premium price for the vehicle, the electric company, or the oil companies..

Quote:

Originally Posted by mk416

How it feels to be dominated by Hyundai and KIA.

this is a more accurate statement, Hyundai and Kia, while offering plug-ins in a limited capacity (same as Toyota), sell more traditional hybrids like Toyota does, the real difference is they offer more features at a lower price for a comparable vehicle in size, power, and reliability.

Toyota is no longer the measure of quality, it is just another player, with a lower warranty and a higher price for no more vehicle. Toyota needs to re-think their technology, pricing, and option packages. While I love our Camry Hybrid, the fact is I can get a Sonata, or Optima Hybrid, with more features for less. Or an Accord Hybrid with more features for an equal price

RNM GS3

Toyota may be the new GM.
Hopefully these moves are not too late.

They badly need to get Lexus on track and update their Hybrid / EV tech.
Not to mention dated multimedia systems compared to others and lack of Apple Android Car play.

mmarshall

Bingo. That's the main issue, not electrification or self-driving features. It is true that Toyota and Lexus are still at or near the top of most reliability surveys, but in general, that doesn't mean as much as it used to. Much of the rest of the industry has either caught up or is rapidly catching up, and the gap between the best-built and the worst-built vehicles, today, is quite narrow, especially compared to decades ago. Even Chrysler products, which have trailed in reliability surveys for decades, are now showing some real promise.

My0gr81

After 24 to 36 months, you would be happy to have paid the premium for the Toyota compared to the Kia/Huyndai product. But then Honda comes along and eats Toyota's lunch, for more features, equal reliability and resale value for the same price.

Sulu

Artificially creating a crisis may not work and may, in fact, backfire, if the employees do not accept the fact that there is a crisis, and refuse to accept that the immense changes directed from above to alleviate the crisis are actually needed.

Bringing in new managers who do not have the respect of the people they manage may, again, backfire. Managers who have a mandate to bring about great changes (to alleviate an artificial crisis, for example) must have the respect of their employees. It is the employees, after all, who actually carry out the changes directed from above, and if the employees do not respect and so do not believe in what the manager wants (or was told) to do, they may revolt by refusing (or sabotaging) the new directives. Respect, after all, must be earned, and if a new (and perhaps young, inexperienced) manager is brought in that nobody knows or respects or believes in, change is unlikely to happen.

I have seen many bright, but young and inexperienced managers stall and fail in their new position, and the companies remained poorly managed.

Sulu

The lack of features problem is because Toyota has become very slow in bringing in new technology and new features. If these changes bring about more agility in the company, they will be welcome.

mjeds

not quite sure what you mean here.. Toyota/Lexus resell isn't that much better than Hyundai/Kia. My 2015 Lexus RCF with under 20K that had an MSRP of $78,900 new is worth about $42K 2 years later. that's over 40% loss, A 2015 Hyundai Equus Ultimate sold for $69K in 2015, with 30K on the clock are selling for $32K around me.. while not a true apple to apple comparison (as Hyundai doesn't sell anything like the RC-F) the truth is both vehicles have lost the same 40%-50% in the same time frame.

While some Toyota models may hold their value a little better, the majority don't, of the top 10 vehicles with the best resale since 2014 (as reported by nada and kbb) Toyota only has 2 on the list, Tacoma and 4Runner, Acura and Honda have 5 of the 10 spots (TLX, ILX, Fit, Odyssey, and Accord), with Subaru taking 2 spots (WRX and Legacy), and Jeep Wrangler takes the final spot.

While true Hyundai and Kia are not even on the list, neither are the Toyota counterparts.

Also note that people tend to lease Hyundai's and Kia's, so they really don't see a depreciation hit, they put a few grand down, lease it for a low payment for 2-3 years and then repeat.

JD powers reports that since 2014 36% of Hyundai/Kia's total transactions are leases, because they offer low down, low payment anyone can get it leases, even new drivers with little to no credit. Toyota sees less than 10% leases (Lexus about 18%) The only companies that have a higher lease over purchase rate than Hyundai are MBZ and BMW, who report nearly 60% of their transactions as being leases, not purchases, likely because of their high prices, people can drive a higher priced status symbol and re-lease when the warranty is out.

The reason leasing is cheaper is because when you lease a car, your monthly payments are basically paying for the depreciation—the decline in value—of the vehicle between the moment you lease it and then moment when you return it. If used car prices are high, vehicle values aren’t falling as fast, so the leasing company will be able to sell the car for more when it’s done with it. That translates into lower lease payments, most people buy cars based on the monthly payment, not the future resale value, they don't care about the future, they care about the now.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

^^^ great post.

i've said this before... it's not that toyota is just like gm of old, producing crap, it's that their mindset seems to be similar, of obsession on counting the money, cutting costs, shoveling safe designs in huge numbers or tiny numbers of 'different to be different' without being better designs. i imagine toyoda's frustration dealing with executives who would probably be just as ok running insurance companies as car companies, with no creativity, no risk taking mindsets, but with lots of spreadsheets, lots of loyalty and reliability, but not really thinking outside the box about the future, because their culture doesn't allow it, and the personalities don't want it. sure toyota brought hybrids, which was REALLY bold, and hat's off to them for that but that's a long time ago, what since? the mirai is an interesting hydrogen vehicle, wrapped in the most hideous body ever designed and only available in california i think, in tiny numbers... a limited experiment, hardly a big risk. at the other end of risk is tesla, boldly doing wild things without regard to profit, and i have NO DOUBT the tesla s stole a bunch of lexus ls sales, because like the ls, the tesla s is quiet, smooth and reliable (drivetrain) even if the interior isn't as luxurious, but it's bold, modern, and innovative. toyota can't do tesla like things because it doesn't fit their culture, but the market is moving and changing so fast that no doubt toyoda's realized as the article says, if they don't change, they're potentially doomed. for example, if self-driving cars don't become 'owned' by people, but more of a vast 'uber-cloud' of vehicles that show up when you need them, take you where you want to go, etc., then the market for new vehicles to be owned and driven by consumers could shrink massively which would leave a vast over-capacity to build. toyota is behind on infotainment, self-driving, electric vehicles. they've made some clever moves to keep the cash gravy train going, like putting all the safety features and led headlights on the lowly corolla, while lexus GX customers for example have to pay a fortune for them, if they're available. i believe the rav4 leverages to corolla platform (that's why it's so narrow) and making the hybrid version price premium cheap, and doing a nice refresh was a bulls eye hit in the exploding compact suv market - way to go toyota. but these are ways to protect marketshare, or marginally grow, but they're not the future. showing ugly flashy concepts years in advance of anything remotely like what would be released is another giant fail made by toyota and may others and won't help.

toyota must innovate, bring products to market faster, and give consumers more choice and flexibility. playing it safe won't cut it.

My0gr81

don't want to quote long posts so here it goes:

@mjeds: I never said Toyota had better resale than Kia/Huyndai, I said you would have wished (happy) have paid the premium after 24/36 months of ownership. I did say Toyota's resale would be at par with Honda's. I also never mentioned anything about owning vs leasing, as it was not relevant. You can dissect this all you want with another 1000 word retort, It is what is, in general using the 80/20 rule.

@bitkahuna: So true, and that dilbert cartoon sums it perfectly. Kaizen is so embedded in Toyota's culture, they have forgotten to make radical or transformational changes. They will die a very slow death, dare I say "incrementally"? if they don't make a dramatic move. Luckily, they are big enough so they have some time to right the ship

mjeds

hence why the first sentence in my post is:



and owning vs. leasing is very relevant in a conversation regarding resale.. leasing keeps used car prices high, thus leasing prices low. in our disposable world Toyota would be wise to up their leasing deals like Hyundai and Kia do, they might see a dramatic shift in sales, people leasing the Hyundai's and Kia's because they can get a cheap leasing $150-$300 a month for little down and get a new car every couple of years repeating the process. If Toyota offered the same thing I bet a great many Hyundai/Kia Lessors would move over.