A marketing analysis of Toyota Automobiles Co.

2. Facts
• 5th largest company in the world by revenue , largest in automotive
industry.
• Named as most admired company and No.1 Motor Vehicle Company by
Forbes for 3 years in a row.
• Sells in 170 countries has 53 overseas manufacturing companies.
• Toyota’s Corolla is the world’s best selling car, with more than 40 million
sold since 1966.
• Toyota Prius is the world’s all-time best-selling hybrid electric vehicle.

3. • Established in 1937 out of a weaving machine company.
• Company founder’s son travelled to Europe and U.S. to investigate
automotive production
• Came back and established Toyota Motor Co with a prototype for car and
truck.

4. Troubled beginnings
• Its vehicles derived striking similarity to their American counter-
parts.
• Were seen as cheap copies.
• Went almost bankrupt after World war 2 as Japanese economy
suffered massively.

5. Why is it so
successful then
?

6. Customer oriented company
• During 1973’s Oil crisis when oil became scarce and prices skyrocketed .
• When customers wanted a smaller ,more fuel efficient automobile the
company was able to quickly respond with the Corona Corolla as entry
level cars and Cressida as a medium end car with added desirable
comforts or Air conditioning and Radio.

7. A good product
mix

8. Lexus – culture targeted marketing
Understood that each country defines luxury
differently and advertised accordingly.
• To US customers it meant comfort, size and
dependability.
• To European customers it meant attention to
detail and brand heritage.

9. Scion – Age Targeted marketing
• Targeted young adults.
• Offered highly customizable car.
• Marketed the car at music events and has showrooms where “young
people feel comfortable hanging out and not a place where they just go to
stare at a car”, Scion Vice president Jim Letz.

10. Industry leader in Innovation
• Spends 9 billion USD on R&D alone.
• First mass produced hybrid vehicle – Prius became a
grand success.
• Forced other giants like Ford ,Nissan ,GM & Honda to
follow the Prius model.
• Now released the first Hydrogen Cell Car which takes
hydrogen as its fuel and releases water as output.
• Has been the go to brand for environment conscious
customers

11. Lean Manufacturing & Continuous
Innovation
Did You Know ?
One Toyota plant can make up to 8 models simultaneously

12. Promoting Progressive thinking in
workers

13. Quality & Reliability
• Has been consistently awarded for its
quality over the years.
• Braving embarrassment and financial
losses it still recalled cars around the
globe after finding gliches in drive
system.
• Shows that it doesn’t shy away from
doing the right thing and caring for its
customers even after selling its product.
• Infuses the customer with a sense of trust
in the company.

14. Result : An admired
successful company
Consistently ranked among the highest in
customer satisfaction and quality of service standards
polls

15. So popular around the globe, it sometimes causes
problems

16. Toyota has built a huge
manufacturing capacity
that can produce millions
of cars each year for a
wide variety of consumers.
Why was it able to become
so much bigger than any
other auto manufacturer ?

17. • A good market knowledge about what the customers want.
• Good market predictions.
• A good product mix.
• Internal focus towards quality and innovation.
• Integrated assembly plants allows them to meet surges in
demand world wide.
• A good mix of emotional and edgy marketing.

18. Has Toyota
done the right
thing by
manufacturing
a car brand for
everyone?
Why or why
not ?

19. Toyota has taken the right decision by positioning
itself as a people’s car with a wide array of well
crafted vehicles targeted at specific groups with
their specific needs in their mind.
Being the world’s largest automobile company
with a revenue of 28 billion yen and an annual
production of almost 17 million vehicles yearly,
many companies would kill to be on the same
spot.

20. Summary
Title Facts History
Questions Result Success Recipe

21. Disclaimer
Created By Ashwani Kumar, IIT Patna during Marketing Internship under Prof.
Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow