Toyota Motor Corp. recently ceded its title as the world’s best-selling automaker to arch-rival Volkswagen AG. Yet the Japanese company’s biggest adversary this year may be U.S. President Donald Trump.
Category: Toyota Motor
Toyota Paces U.S. Sales Decline as Carmakers Boost Discounts
Toyota Motor Corp. led major carmakers reporting lower U.S. sales in January, even as an industry trying for another record year piled on discounts to keep showrooms busy. Deliveries fell about 11 percent for both Toyota and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV.
Toyota Loses Sales Crown to VW as U.S. Trade Barriers Loom
Toyota Motor Corp. lost its title as the world’s best-selling automaker to Volkswagen AG, snapping the Japanese company’s four-year reign, as demand for its flagship Camry sedan waned in the U.S. and sales in China expanded at a slower pace than the overall market. Toyota’s global sales, including its Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co.
Toyota Loses Sales Crown to VW as Trade Barrier Threat Looms
Toyota Motor Corp. lost its crown as the world’s best-selling automaker to Volkswagen AG, ending the Japanese company’s four-year reign, as it faces challenges that range from the threat of trade barriers in the U.S. to slowing demand in China after a tax increase. Worldwide sales for Toyota, including its Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co.
Trump Hits Toyota on Mexico as Car Criticism Spreads to Japanese
President-elect Donald Trump launched his latest Twitter missive over Mexico-built and imported cars toward a Japanese automaker for the first time, threatening to tax Toyota Motor Corp. into building a plant in the U.S. instead. Days removed from Ford Motor Co.
Toyota Will Take Trump’s Decisions Into Account on Mexico Plant
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda said he’ll take U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s decisions into account when planning for the automaker’s Mexican operations, after Ford Motor Co. scrapped plans to build a new plant there.
Toyota Plans Years of Building Cars Largely Controlled by Humans
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to spend years designing cars in which humans retain a large measure of control, since the goal of turning all driving decisions over to computers seems too dangerous for now. The problem, Toyota said Wednesday, is that society has come to accept 39,000 traffic fatalities a year in the U.S., mostly due to human error, but would never tolerate similar carnage involving cars controlled by computers.
Automakers’ December Deals Push 2016 to a Record Seventh Gain
Automakers bought themselves a holiday present in 2016 to achieve a record seventh straight annual sales gain — at a steep cost. Aggressive dealmaking in December ultimately pushed the year’s total sales to a record 17.55 million cars and light trucks — a feat considered unlikely just six months earlier.
Ford, Toyota Form Telematics Bloc to Stymie Google and Apple
Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have formed a consortium with four medium-size automakers to speed development of auto-industry standards for in-vehicle apps, a step toward preventing Apple Inc. and Google from controlling how drivers connect smartphones to their cars and trucks.
Fiat Chrysler Pauses From Gas-Guzzlers to Show Electric Minivan
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is laying out a vision of a battery-powered, self-driving minivan that it bets even a millennial could love. That may not be enough to shake the automaker’s image as the purveyor of the least fuel-efficient fleet in the U.S. The automaker’s fifth-generation minivan, whose design concept is called the Chrysler Portal, would have a 250-mile electric range and enough screens, ports and social-media options to entertain young families while software handles much of the driving.
Japan’s Once-Dominant Carmakers Face Pay Hikes to Lure Geeks
Headhunter Casey Abel spent four months trying to hire a data-center architect for a Japanese automaker, including five meetings with the client — one with the top executive. In the end, the IT specialist joined an e-commerce company abroad for significantly more money.
Toyota Hybrid Bet Pays Off as Dieselgate Spurs Europe Demand
For years, Toyota Motor Corp. focused on pushing its hybrid models in Europe, avoiding a diesel-for-diesel competition with market leaders including Volkswagen AG. The Japanese carmaker’s strategy is finally paying off.