Toyota CEO Jim Lentz Speaks at N.Y. Auto Show
Tim Esterdahl | Apr 12, 2012 | Comments 6
Toyota’s Jim Lentz, President and CEO of Toyota spoke about the auto maker at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. Here is a quick recap of what he said according to torquenews.com.
Toyota CEO Jim Lentz spoke about Toyota's past and future at the N.Y. auto show.
- The Toyota Camry remained the top selling car in America for the 10th straight year.
- The Tacoma became the most popular small pickup.
- The Corolla was named the best-selling compact car.
- The Sienna became the best-selling minivan for the very first time.
- Predictably, the Prius remains the top-selling hybrid, not only in the U.S., but the world at large.
He also noted that 2012 was off to a good start with sales up 13 percent so far. To keep this sales momenteum going, the plan is to hold dealerships at 1,500 nationally and sparingly use incentives.
While sales are improving, the current trend of building more vehicles domestically seems to be continuing.
“We continue to build cars where we sell them. Within the last six months, we opened a 2,000-job plant in Mississippi to build Corollas,” Lentz said. “We announced plans to expand Highlander production in Indiana, RAV4 production in Canada and transmissions in West Virginia. We’ll have more announcements on local expansion and job creation in the future.”
This trend has resulted in more than 70 percent of the Toyota vehicles are built in the U.S. And of those, more than 75 percent of the component content is American made.
He also said that the company is working hard to overcome the recent recalls. While this is a drain, Toyota is once again ranking as the best in nation for quality, according to J.D. Power, and in consumer perception, as defined by Consumer Reports.
What’s next?
He said that Toyota, Prius, Lexus and Scion are working on:
- They are fine-tuning combustion engines and reducing vehicle weight to increase mileage and lessen emissions.
- Advanced solid-state and metal-air batteries are in development that “greatly exceed” the performance of today’s lithium ion cells.
- Toyota is pursuing the use of more carbon-neutral, eco-plastics made in part from plants for interior components of vehicles.
- Also in development is a zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle slated for release during 2015.
“Our goal is to create a variety of vehicles for the future that can run on gas or other fuels and then let CONSUMERS determine what works best for them. Whichever way consumers decide to go, we strongly believe that hybrids will remain a core technology because our hybrid systems can easily be adapted to other powertrains to further conserve energy.”
He closed by saying, “We strongly believe that we have ALL the ingredients to make 2012 a break-out year for Toyota and we’re in a great position for even STRONGER growth in the future,” Lentz proclaimed. “It’s not about being the biggest in the world; it’s about being the best for our customers all around the world.”
Related Posts:
Filed Under: Auto News
I don’t think toyota is doing a bad job of quality cars, but the competition is heating up from the big 3 and Hyundai/Kia in particular along of course with Honda. Personally, I think Honda and Toyota quality has gone downhill the past few years while the big 3 and especially Hyundai/Kia are on par with Toyota right now and in some vehicles better than Toyota. For example, I’d buy a santa fe 3.5L V6 over a 3.5L RAV4 anyday and highly consider a sonata over a new camry and also an elantra over a corolla both comparably equipped. Competition is a good thing for consumers and it will be an interesting 2013 and 2014 to see if Toyota revamps the tundra to compete with dodge and chevy newly redesigned 1/2 ton trucks being implemented before the tundra freshened up. You always hear Honda and Toyota on top in terms of reliability and resale, but I think the big 3 and hyundai/kia will start winning over customers from honda and toyota in 2013 taking away some marketshare from both of them.
mk – I think Honda/Toyota quality is as good as ever, but the vehicles have been “de-contented” year after year because of the strong yen. I say this because the JD Power metrics are consistent, but as to your larger point – that Honda/Toyota aren’t as dynamic as they used to be and will lose share – agree completely on most models. Fortunately, Toyota is revamping their entire product line over the next 18 months or so. Hopefully they’ll address this.
Most models, except the Tundra and Tacoma. Those two are good.
Prius is a rock star too, and new Camry ain’t bad. Anyways, thanks for commenting.
Are we reading the same article mk?
[…] They are kicking Toyotas ass right now in the small car segment. Not sure about that statement: Toyota CEO Speaks at N.Y. Auto Show | Tundra Headquarters __________________ MIDNIGHT RIDER THE NEW HEARTBEAT OF AMERICA AFTER GAS PEDAL […]
[…] read this article and you can give some input. Also he would like to preview your truck. Toyota CEO Speaks at N.Y. Auto Show | Tundra Headquarters __________________ MIDNIGHT RIDER THE NEW HEARTBEAT OF AMERICA AFTER GAS PEDAL […]