Toyota motors: SWOT analysis
Toyota United States generated a net income of $22,661,000 as of March 31, 2008. This is definitely higher than the $18,964,000 net income that the company generated during the prior year of March, 2007. This 2007 net income figure is also very much higher than the prior year of March, 2006 net income figure of $ 15,990,000. (Reference: http://finance. yahoo. com/q/is? s=tm&annual) The Toyota Motors Corporation generated $15. 51Billion in net income for the month of October. This is clearly higher than the $-62. 76 billion in net loss that General Motors gathered for the same time period.
Another competitors, Ford Motors, generated a $-11. 77 billion in net loss for the same time period. The following paragraphs will explain why Japanese Car manufacturing, Toyota, was able to outwit and outgun its competitors in the United States and around world ( Ref: http://finance. yahoo. com/q/co? s=TM). The October 16, 2008 stock market report shows that New York Stock exchange share prices of car manufacturing companies varied. Ford Motor Stocks had dropped by 1. 3 percent to the tune of $. 03 per share of stock. The new share price of each Ford Motor Stock is now $2.27.
The General Motors New York stock market share of the company’s stocks had risen by $. 18 or 2. 9 percent to the new $2. 27 percent. Toyota Motors stocks listed in the New York Stock Exchange had also risen from 5. 4 percent or $3. 47 per share. The share of each Toyota Motors stock was now $67. 18 each. (Ref: http://biz. yahoo. com/ap/081016/autos_final_glance. html?. v=1) BODY Strengths. Toyota Motors of Japan set up its own car manufacturing facilities in the United States and China.
The company has successful overtaken U. S. giants in the car manufacturing industry like General Motors and Ford Motors its car products focus on market segmentation. It focused the people who preferred a different type of car that fills the discriminating tastes of the different types of car buyers in the United States, in Europe and other parts of the world. Ford has overtaken its American competitors in the car industry because its products are diversified to fit each unique market segment. It increased its marketing strategies in terms of price, produce, place and promotion.
It also innovated its production facilities to maintain high quality car products. The top three car manufacturers in the United States are Toyota, General Motors and Ford Motors(Kozminski & Cushman,1993). Weaknesses. Toyota sells most of its car products in the United States and Japan. The current car market is squeezed so that there is no elbow room to increase sales. The saturated U. S. car market segment has forced the U. S. car manufacturers to fight it out for the few prospective clients they could find locally.
The current depression in the United States has taken its toll on all sectors of the American Society. The current economic and political situation that creates a headache to the Bush Administration has made a very deep slowdown in the people’s need to buy cars in the United States. The large car manufacturing capital investments in the United States had precipitated to a drain in Toyota’s scarce money resources. Toyota reacted by transferring its manufacturing facilities to China in order to lower variable costs and expenses.
However, Toyota Manufacturing has to continue to produce cars in the U. S. in order to fill a sudden deluge for cars when the depression will be over. It would not be a good strategy for the company to only start manufacturing cars when the depression ends because it would be too late to fill the public’s renewed car needs in the United States. This will complement the current Toyota Just in Time management strategy. This is also synonymous with value chain management emphasized in the Western business strategy books(Ono,1988).
