Autoblog

Although Toyota has recently claimed the title of the World's Largest Automaker in terms of global sales, the Japanese-giant is finding out that life at the top isn't all it's cracked-up to be. While the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and Prius sedans are reportedly brisk movers, the same thing cannot be said about Toyota's line of trucks and sport utility vehicles. Toyota has cut Tundra and Sequoia production already, but dealers are still declining to purchase them, pushing the number of unclaimed units to an all-time high. Automotive News quotes an unnamed Toyota dealer as saying, "Last month, Southeast Toyota had 9,700 vehicles that had been turned down twice by dealers and are either sitting at the port or at sea. That's a significant number." Right now, Toyota/Scion has a high 58-day supply of available inventory on hand.

Some dealers, though, see the high number of available units as a blessing-in-disguise. "We've been asking for more inventory for two years and now we finally got it. This is a great opportunity. You have to take it when you can get it," says Steve Cain, general manager of Lewis Toyota-Scion in Topeka, Kansas. Regardless of your viewpoint, we expect that Toyota will align itself with market realities in order to bring production in line with actual sales sooner rather than later. In other words, if you've been in the market for a Toyota truck, chances are good you'll get a decent deal.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Toyota has one of the highest loyalty rates of any car brand, something it's earned over decades of building reliable cars and treating customers fairly. So when one of its managers hears stories similar to that of a customer of twenty years switching brands because of the poor treatment received at a dealer, you can rest assured that the carmaker's service experience will be changing, and changing fast.

The plan now is to improve the whole 'Toyota experience' of buying, owning, and maintaining one of its cars. "It's a movement, not a program," explained Jack Hollis, the corporate manager with Toyota's U.S. sales subsidiary who heads the EM2 initiative - Toyota's Everything Matters Exponentially plan.

The carmaker is rapidly expanding all over the globe, but at the same time it's facing new challenges that have the potential to tarnish its reputable image. The major issues are the growing number of vehicle recalls and a jump in the level of unscrupulous dealers that are overcharging customers for routine maintenance and simple repairs. Finally, Toyota has been slipping in the latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, and is now behind arch rival Honda.

Can EM2 turn Toyota back into the carmaker that allowed it to reach the number one spot? Only time will tell.

[Source: The Car Connection]