Further to
our earlier post,
Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation and President of the Japan Business Federation, has stated in a
press conference that he believes that General Motors is in serious trouble.
“I don’t know its real
internal situation, but I think General Motors is in quite a serious financial crisis,” said Okuda. “As far
as I look at the situation as an outsider, its market share has declined and it has failed to produce quality cars. It
attempted to sell its financial subsidiary, but the affiliate ended up unsold.” He did reiterate his previous
statement that he thought it unlikely that GM would collapse.
This isn’t the first time that Toyota’s
chairman has offered his opinions on the state of the U.S. auto industry. Readers will recall last year’s PR fiasco centered around the
possibility that the world’s number two automaker would raise U.S. prices to “help” its U.S. competitors.
Okuda’s sounding tougher this time around…