Make Way for the Green Machines!
…Is Toyota making competition for themselves when surrounded by competition??
Takeshi Uchiyamada, Vice Chairman @ Toyota HQ has announced that within the next 3 years, they will be unveiling 21 new eco-friendly vehicles from hybrids to electric cars to fuel cell vehicles.
This stems from Toyota’s market research showing, “positive reception for new technology, such as the hybrid, surprised Toyota, underlying the deep interest the public has in reducing emissions and protecting the environment” – T. Uchiyamada.
Toyota is not the only one working on more green innovations. Most of the U.S. carmakers are perfecting their new releases to close in the gap. Prius’ top ranking is severely under threat not only in the U.S., but worldwide.
In addition to all the new green autos hitting our U.S. roadways, European carmaker Pugeot is also coming out with their hot new concept, the Onyx, that is a sleek, sexy car that has 680 horsepower BUT gets comparable mileage to the Prius….sorry to say, when it comes to cars, I’m no loyalist, and if I can get all the perks of a Prius in the shell of a head-turning statement car – I’m all in!
How do I feel about being in direct competition with yourself?? Not so optimistic! With a launch of so many new vehicles and product line extensions, it seems more like this will result in cannibalism. In the long run, I don’t think Toyota will see a substantial increase in revenue from this, but perhaps a marginal increase divided up amongst the rest of their models. 
This is an overzealous and half-baked plan, have they even thought about how all this competition saturating the market will affect their bottom line? Instead of trying to make up for lost time and revenue due to the financial crises and instability due to the natural disasters in Japan, I feel it would be wise to pace yourselves.
Can’t wait to see all the new innovations, anyway ……!
This idea seems far fetched in my opinion, but the third car down on the right looks nice!! nice job on using marketing terms.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Moore A.K.A ChrisPY MAC
My family and I own four Toyota vehicles: Corolla, Sienna, Matrix, and Camry.Each of them belongs to my brother, my dad, my mom, and me respectively. So you can tell that I'm a Toyota fan. I can't wait for the 21 new eco-friendly vehicles to come out. I have yet to own a hybrid. Maybe sometime in the near future, I'll drive one. I'm all for green autos. The competition of vehicles among Toyota is not necessarily a bad thing. It gives more choices for consumers to choose from. It's kind of like McDonald's with its huge menu selection.
ReplyDelete- Hanli Tjahyono
Hanli - Mine is a Toyota family also...I am in the market for a hybrid myself, but I think there may be too many options coming out! I agree that the competition is not always a bad thing, but maybe they should slow it down a bit!
ReplyDeleteChrisPY MAC - Thank you for the comments as well :)
-QueenJ9
I'm glad they're looking in to new models of eco-friendly cars (I've never been a fan of the way the Prius looks), however 21 new cars seems a bit excessive! Toyota, why not focus on quality, and not quantity? They shouldn't risk their reputation of producing reliable cars. Also, having too many options on the market may overwhelm and confuse consumers.
ReplyDeleteNice post Janine!
-Corinne