Despite being small, Toyota like David is challenging Goliath's of Detroit namely General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler for their market share in the automobile industry.
The
success of Japanese automakers in the US market is increasing
and is becoming a matter of concern for the American
competitors namely General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler.
Recently, the second quarter results of Toyota have
showed that it has posted record profits and its sales
have grown in all major segments be it cars, trucks,
pick--up vans, or SUVs. The profits stood at $4.74 bn
in the six months ending on September 30, a 23% increase
over the earlier year. In the first half of fiscal year
2003, Toyota has become the world's second biggest automotive
manufacturer by unit sales behind GM beating Ford Motor
Co. Toyota has sold 3.17 million vehicles during the
six months ended September 30, an increase of 7.4% from
the year earlier, while Ford's sales have decreased
by 11% at 3.13 million and GM's by 3.9% at 4.03 million
vehicles for the same period. Recently, Toyota became
the first automaker to develop a brand specifically
for younger buyers called Scion, which would represent
about 5% of North American sales. So, what is driving
Toyota's continuous success in US?
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