The ultimate mission of Toyota Motor Corporation is defined in terms of its statement of vision: "Toyota is a company devoted to enhancing the quality of life for people around the world by providing useful and appealing products" (Toyota Motor Corporation, 1994).
Within that overall philosophical framework, the mission of Toyota can be characterized as becoming the world's leading vehicle manufacturer. "Leading" here should be understood as signifying not simply a transient leadership in production and sales volume, but a broader conception of Toyota as the standard-setter in the industry, setting benchmarks of product quality and production efficiency which others will seek to emulate.
Consequently, the strategy of Toyota Motor Corporation is: 1) to decrease costs while maintaining quality though increased production and operational efficiencies; and 2) to expand its global presence in manufacturing as well as sales.
However, it must be recognized that the motor vehicle industry is long-established, with major competitors having relatively well-defined positions within it. The potential for dramatic growth by any one competitor is therefore limited. Yet the fact that the auto industry is mature does not imply that it will decline in the near future; indeed, no substitute product for the automobile is now in sight.
Some implications of a mature industry are the prevalence of repeat buyers, an emphasis on cost and service, and limited potential for growth save by capturing consumers from a competitor -- a factor which again puts an emphasis on cost and service, as well as on quality; these are precisely areas which Toyota has emphasized.
Toyota is currently Japan's largest car maker and exporter of automobiles. Yet, if it had not been for Sakichi Toyoda's deathbed request to his son Kiichiro, the automobile company probably would not exist at all (Hoover's Handbook of World Business, 1995). Initially, the compa...