Filed under: Economy, China, Hatchbacks, Toyota
Toyota head says low-cost car needs work
You can't have it all, and Toyota is learning this lesson first hand as it struggles to develop an inexpensive, safe and well built car to sell in markets like China, Russia and Brazil. Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe has already driven prototypes of the low-cost car, and told Automotive News Europe that he found the "level of the new car not bad." Toyota doesn't have a reputation for building cars that are "not bad", and Watanabe thinks there's a way to go in improving the car's quality. Unfortunately, that means the low cost car, the design of which may be based on the iQ Concept shown this past week in Frankfurt, will not be as inexpensive as first thought. While admitting his company could sell the car for less than €5,000, Watanabe doesn't think they'd be able to offer the safety and quality he says Toyota is known for at that price.
[Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
spw 8:15PM (9/17/2007)
ehm. IQ is not an low cost car.
IQ will be modern, cool car for Europeans with style - it will be priced higher than Yaris.
What they are talking about is low cost sedan for 3rd world countries, something like Dacia in Europe (much, much simplified Yaris Sedan for example).
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Barney 8:51PM (9/17/2007)
According to the article, the low cost car was intended to be based on the IQ.
spw 9:00PM (9/17/2007)
which would be great if article was correct, but it is not :-).
Barney 11:25PM (9/17/2007)
SPW "if article was correct, but it is not'
Is this a new from scratch, endeavour?
Brian Dreggors 8:25PM (9/17/2007)
As if the Yaris wasn't embarassing enough to be seen in...
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Barney 8:54PM (9/17/2007)
If you are embarrassed, then drive it at night. Use the bus during the day. That's what you get when you think everyone is looking at you.
far jr 9:42PM (9/17/2007)
Why not just rehash the ECHO...echo...echo?
Oh yeah, they are looking for cheap AND quality, not just cheap.
whofan 9:13PM (9/17/2007)
he found the "level of the new car not bad." Toyota doesn't have a reputation for building cars that are "not bad"
They do with me. Toyotas are good there not bad.
Now, give me a lobotomy and say 1000 times over Toyotas are the very best then my perception may change.
I know the difference between night and day, hot and cold.
A vehicle is a machine built by man that can be good but far from perfect.
Toyota`s have their problems too, that cost more to fix.
Quality control at Toyota may be better than most.
The car itself is no better.
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Dylan 12:50AM (9/18/2007)
Dude, stay in school and maybe take an English class or just skip less classes, half that post made zero sense.
Toyota's aren't built by man, they're built by robots. Cars that are actually built by man like TVR and Lamborghini are actually worse off with regards to quality than those built by robots because humans make more mistakes, several times over.
Toyota's cost more to fix because their parts aren't manufactured at the lowest end of quality. Their technicians are trained and you can't go to "bob" on the corner to have that "do-hicky" fixed.
whofan 3:44PM (9/18/2007)
Ok, so it`s God who builds Toyotas.
My post makes more sense than yours.
Reno 10:16PM (9/17/2007)
I'm down with saving the planet also, but what's up with all these car companies wanting to make go-carts now? That's no hot, and it's damn sure not safe, because an idiot in an SUV can't see you and probably run you over.
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jorge 3:33AM (9/18/2007)
you don't understand. The whole point of all the manufacturer to build small car("go cart" as Reno phrased) is to make it the majority size cars on the road. This mean most suv will be replace by the small car. Therefore small cars will not be run over by suv
m 8:10AM (9/18/2007)
Reno, you have a lot to learn.
Bryan 10:16PM (9/17/2007)
Not bad? What do you call the rest of Toyota's lineup? Obviously they never drove an Echo, a Tundra, an Avalon, oh and my favorite, the old Previa. lol.
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importjap 10:18PM (9/17/2007)
Toyota do have a reputation, and producing a particularly low cost car would impact on their reputation EVERYWHERE, not just in developing international markets, but in traditional markets. I think Toyota knows this, and will need to take a good look at low cost solutions - perhaps a completely different platform to the iQ.
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psarhjinian 10:41PM (9/17/2007)
Hey, did Bob Lutz sit in a Cobalt, Aveo or G6 and declare it "not bad" yet shelve it until a competitive product could be made? Did Carlos Ghosn declare the Sentra or Maxima "not bad"?
What's nice about Watanabe (aside from the fact that, unlike Lutz, Ghosn or Wiedeking and others, he's not a self-serving rockstar) is that he'll go on record when he things Toyota has a problem that needs addressing. Aside from Alan Mulally (a competent guy who, sadly, has been tasked with dealing with the mess that is Ford), I can't think of another automotive executive that would point out flaws in one's own product, process, or organization the way Watanbe as done.
The lack of hubris is shocking that it almost becomes prideful but by travelling in the opposite direction.
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Don 9:14PM (9/18/2007)
Welcome to the new "global economy", Mr. Watanabe.
Nothing's cheap anymore.
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