Recently, Toyota announced plans that the company would begin to manufacture eight new compact car models for the year 2015. The company says it is an attempt to keep up with other companies who are offering compact cars throughout the world, like VW and GM. One of the reasons Toyota is taking this step is to help reduce their dependence on the North American, European and Japanese markets. Instead, they plan on using these new compact cars to grow their brand in emerging markets like China, India and Brazil. These new compact cars will feature unique wheel and tire packages, and can be outfitted with custom rims from Ruff-Racing wheels or Fuel Wheels.
New Goals
The goal for Toyota is to sell half of all its vehicles in these new markets by the year 2015. This would represent an increase of 45% from the previous year, making it one of the most dramatic shifts in strategy that the company has ever done. “In emerging market, there are four or five automakers vying to take the lead in sales volumes”, said Toyota Executive Vice President Yukitoshi Funo, “Particularly in the Southeast Asian region, Volkswagen and others are looking to challenge our lead so we can’t be resting on our laurels.”
Lowering Costs
Toyota’s new compact cars are going to be priced at around one million yen, which is roughly $12,600. They will be manufactured in plants in and around India, Brazil and China. In order to lower costs, Toyota plans on producing 100% of the parts for these new compact cars locally. This will also help to create jobs in the local areas, endearing the company to the public. However, this move is going to require Toyota’s research and development team to come up with new ways to produce the parts that make up these incredibly intricate, compact automobiles. The company hopes to feature 17 inch wheels, or even 18 inch wheels on their new lineup.
Heavily Populated Countries
In 2010, Toyota produced about 2.3 million vehicles in emerging markets. By the year 2013, Toyota wants to increase that number to over 3 million. The most popular Toyota’s are the Toyota Camry and the Toyota Corrola. Toyota is also rumored to be working on a compact car in the Indian market which will be sold for only $6,300. This would be one of their cheapest offerings ever and will surely sell incredibly well in the heavily populated country. “We want to beef up our presence in segments where we can be competitive. There are not many options for customers looking in that price range, including used cars” Mr. Funo told reporters.
Toyota has always been at the forefront of innovation and producing vehicles that appeal to a large amount of people all over the globe. With emerging markets in China, Brazil, and India looking for new ways to provide affordable transportation to their growing populations, Toyota is looking to fill the void. They are going to be releasing a new lineup of compact cars in the year 2015 that aims at addressing the transportation needs of those people in countries that are not as conducive to mid-sized or full-sized sedans. These new compact cars will have upgraded wheel and tire packages, and would also greatly benefit from custom rims like Ruff-Racing wheels or Fuel wheels.
