Case Study on Toyota: The Once-in-a-Century Challenge

This case study is about Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), the world's leading automaker. When Akio Toyoda (Akio) took over as President of the iconic Japanese automaker on June 23, 2009, the automotive industry was going through a very difficult phase. Moreover, Toyota was also facing some serious problems itself. In mid-2009, the company reported its first losses since 1963, the year it began reporting business data. Analysts felt that the global financial crisis had had its impact on Toyota and that the company was also trying to cope with a shift in the global automobile industry. The challenge before Akio, grandson of the founder of Toyota, was to bring the automaker back to profits.

Akio immediately announced a slew of measures to bring the company back to profits. According to him, the industry was going through a ‘once-in-a-century transformation' and thus he wanted to break from the past to provide a solution for this ‘once-in-a-century challenge'. The case study discusses some of the measures taken by Akio and also discusses the challenges that he faced in bringing Toyota back into profits. While many analysts felt that Toyota would bounce back, some analysts expressed doubts over whether Akio would be able to manage a turnaround and pull the company out of the crisis. Some insiders were also worried that the selection of a member of the founding family as President might lead to disunity within the company.

QUESTIONS:-

1. Explain some of the reasons for the problems faced by Toyota in 2009.

2. Explain the strategy adopted by Akio Toyoda in his bid to bring Toyota back to profits.

3. Explore strategies that Akio could adopt in these difficult economic times.