Toyota no longer profitable in North America
- Thread starter TinmanMS6
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- 96 Miata M-Edition, 2015 Mazda 3 Hatch
There are better cars to be had for the same money though. I've driven a new IS. I wasn't terribly impressed. My forester had a smoother ride.
Toyota: Revive Scion, Reshape Lexus and Spice Up Models
Toyota's new boss in North America, Yoshimi Inaba, says putting more excitement into all Toyota vehicles as well as reviving the Scion youth brand and reshaping the Lexus luxury brand for the future are his top priorities on the product front.
Inaba told reporters in Detroit he has marching orders from Akio Toyoda, the new head of Toyota worldwide described by Inaba "as even more of a car enthusiast than I am," to fire up passion for vehicles throughout Toyota.
"I'll be careful to choose my words," Inaba chuckled to reporters, "but I can see standing on the sidelines that there is not enough excitement in our vehicles."
Though short on specifics after little more than a week on the job, Inaba said he has particular interest in the Scion and Lexus brands, as he was head of Toyota's U.S. operations when the automaker launched Scion and expanded Lexus' line.
He vows to "revive the Scion spirit." Despite a recent sales plunge, Scion remains a good business model but requires more than its current trio of vehicles and needs more frequent product freshening, Inaba said.
Inaba is exploring how to re-shape Lexus, which has seen dramatic sales drops. "We have to figure out what is Lexus here in the U.S...and what is the next phase of Lexus," he said, adding that doesn't necessarily mean a sales target beyond the current 300,000 annually.
Assembling Scion and Lexus vehicles as well as the Toyota Prius hybrid in North America are possible in the future as well, he said. Toyota wants to boost the percentage of vehicles it builds in North America to more than 60 percent of its North American sales, though he gave no target.
Toyota's new boss in North America, Yoshimi Inaba, says putting more excitement into all Toyota vehicles as well as reviving the Scion youth brand and reshaping the Lexus luxury brand for the future are his top priorities on the product front.
Inaba told reporters in Detroit he has marching orders from Akio Toyoda, the new head of Toyota worldwide described by Inaba "as even more of a car enthusiast than I am," to fire up passion for vehicles throughout Toyota.
"I'll be careful to choose my words," Inaba chuckled to reporters, "but I can see standing on the sidelines that there is not enough excitement in our vehicles."
Though short on specifics after little more than a week on the job, Inaba said he has particular interest in the Scion and Lexus brands, as he was head of Toyota's U.S. operations when the automaker launched Scion and expanded Lexus' line.
He vows to "revive the Scion spirit." Despite a recent sales plunge, Scion remains a good business model but requires more than its current trio of vehicles and needs more frequent product freshening, Inaba said.
Inaba is exploring how to re-shape Lexus, which has seen dramatic sales drops. "We have to figure out what is Lexus here in the U.S...and what is the next phase of Lexus," he said, adding that doesn't necessarily mean a sales target beyond the current 300,000 annually.
Assembling Scion and Lexus vehicles as well as the Toyota Prius hybrid in North America are possible in the future as well, he said. Toyota wants to boost the percentage of vehicles it builds in North America to more than 60 percent of its North American sales, though he gave no target.
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