This is what happens when you make a good product...

[Army_of_One]

Toyota Tops GM in 1Q Global Sales
Tuesday April 24, 1:09 pm ET
By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
On Track to Top, Toyota's First Quarter Global Sales Beat GM's Preliminary Numbers


TOKYO (AP) -- For the first time ever, Toyota sold more vehicles globally in a quarter than General Motors, preliminary January-March figures show, the clearest sign yet that the Japanese company is on track to overtake its U.S. rival as the world's top automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s success is fueled by robust demand for its reliable, fuel-efficient models, including the Camry, Corolla, Yaris and gas-electric hybrid Prius.

It also comes at a time when General Motors Corp., which lost $2 billion last year, has been forced to scale back production and cut costs in a bid to revive its sliding fortunes, even as it leads in China's booming market.
Final bragging rights as the world's top automaker -- a title GM has held for 76 years -- won't be decided until global vehicle production numbers get tallied for the full year.
But Tuesday's data show that Toyota is getting closer. The Japanese company sold 2.35 million vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, Toyota said, surpassing the 2.26 million vehicles GM said it sold in the period, according to preliminary figures.
In 2006, Toyota's global output rose 10 percent to 9.018 million vehicles, while GM and its affiliates produced 9.18 million vehicles worldwide -- a gap of about 162,000. In the first quarter, Toyota made 2.37 million units while GM had expected to produce 2.34 million during the same period, and has not given a final number.
Analysts say Toyota is building on its lead by investing in ecological technology, opening plants around the world, developing new models and wooing drivers with solid marketing that drives home its brand power.
Those are precisely areas in which GM has fallen behind Toyota, analysts say. GM will be hard pressed to play catch-up, making it more likely that Toyota will outstrip GM for the full year, they say.
"Toyota sales are booming because of its good image around the world about reliability and ecological technology," said Koji Endo, auto analyst with Credit Suisse in Tokyo. "It's just the opposite for GM, and its image is deteriorating."
GM said although Toyota won the first quarter, the fight for global leadership is not over for the year. A company spokesman said it would not chase market share solely to recapture the lead from Toyota, and it has no special plan to retake the lead.
"We also had a record first quarter globally. We set sales records in three out of our four regions," said spokesman John McDonald. "We've got our first quarter underneath our belt. Let's see what the rest of the year holds for us. We're going to fight for every sale," he said.
The cycle of good news keeps getting better for Toyota, however, as it can use its profits to keep growing. With the company doing so well, morale is high at Toyota, keeping the positive cycle going, while GM tends to be dragged down by battles with its union, Endo said.
But Endo also warned that increased size also brings other problems like trying to ensure quality and manage a sprawling network of manufacturing and sales.
"As your volume gets bigger and bigger, in many cases efficiency tends to drop," he said. "There might be a risk of being over-stretched."
Toyota was founded in 1937 by the Toyoda family, whose members continue to play key roles and are a symbol of emotional unity for the company and its employees.
Perhaps more famous than the Toyoda family are the company's innovators, such as Taiichi Ohno, credited with inventing just-in-time production to reduce inventory, and the philosophy of worker-empowerment called "kaizen," allowing workers to keep improving production methods and hold the critical power of shutting down the assembly line at any time.
Companies around the world, including those outside the auto industry, have adopted Toyota's methods. Universities, both in and outside Japan, study the Toyota method.
Toyota is also well-known for nurturing worker loyalty by offering lifetime employment. The last time Toyota resorted to massive job cuts was during hard times in 1950.
Toyota has beaten GM in profitability for the past four years, with 1.4 trillion yen ($11.8 billion) profit for the fiscal year through March 2006.
GM, meanwhile, has been negotiating severance packages with thousands of workers in an effort to turn around its North American operations. In the fourth quarter of 2006, it reported a profit of $950 million, a big turnaround from a loss of $6.6 billion a year ago.
Modesty is also a Toyota trademark, and executives have repeatedly played down the prospects of overtaking GM.
Asked that question last week in Detroit, Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe emphasized that Toyota must continue to improve its quality from the top down to remain a leader in the auto industry.

"We're still developing in many regions of the world. I don't regard that as a success yet," he said.

GM doesn't give yearly forecasts, but Toyota is shooting for global output of 9.42 million vehicles and sales of 9.34 million units.

While Toyota appears on course to supplant General Motors this year, GM's moves to boost overseas production could keep it in the running. The company's sales in China jumped 32 percent last year to 876,747 units, making it the No. 1 seller there. It is also building a new factory in India, another market with tremendous potential.

But analysts note that Toyota's success required long-term planning and years of hard work.

"Winning didn't happen overnight," said Koichi Shimokawa, business administration professor at Tokai Gakuen University. "Japanese makers built their business, slowly but surely, accumulating technology and developing good cars."

Endo believes the trend of Toyota outdoing GM is very difficult to reverse: "Everybody on the road expects Toyota to overtake GM in 2007."

[Army_of_One]

Why does GM Lose 2 billion when Toyota makes 2 Billion? Quality? Management?

[booger]

Most likely, "Unions".

[Army_of_One]

I would agree with that.....

[lurker]

Amen.

The World has changed into a Global Market but the Unions have yet to even change their skivvies.

[Highwayman]

Maybe there is something else besides a union problem.

....U.S. financial generosity to our allies after World War II included giving them special trade advantages to help speed up their postwar recovery. The United States agreed that they could rebate to their producers any indirect taxes they paid on goods they exported to the U.S., and they could also impose an equal charge on any U.S. products they imported.

Those nations recovered from World War II many years ago, but they still cling to what started out as a little advantage but has steadily increased to become a massively unfair advantage. The cost to U.S. producers increased to a whopping $327 billion in 2006.

In practical terms, this means that the German manufacturer of an automobile exported to the United States gets a rebate from the German government equal to the indirect taxes paid in Germany, a type of tax called the value-added tax. Since the VAT rate in Germany is 19 percent, the German carmaker gets a 19 percent tax rebate on every vehicle exported to the United States.

That's a significant subsidy to German auto manufacturers which enables them to sell cars in America for much less than they sell for in Germany. But what about U.S. automobiles exported to Germany?

A U.S. manufacturer exporting an auto to Germany must pay the German government a VAT equivalent tax of 19 percent of the price of the car plus 19 percent of all the costs of transportation, insurance, docking and duties involved in getting the car to Germany. The U.S. company gets no credit for corporate taxes it pays in the United States.

Today, 157 other countries use a VAT tax system that gives foreigners a large and unfair advantage over U.S. producers in both our markets and in foreign markets. This two-edged sword cost U.S. producers $327 billion in 2006.

But that's not all. The VAT advantage also creates a perverse incentive for U.S. companies to move their plants and jobs to other countries so they, too, can take advantage of the VAT subsidy.

Thousands of U.S. producers have already shifted their production overseas to get the same tax break, and more are ready to follow. Even companies that don't want to leave the United States have little choice when faced by competitors who move overseas and cut their prices.

U.S. producers face another inducement because most banks are now reluctant to lend money to companies that refuse to move offshore, particularly to China....

Full column;
Townhall.com::Value-added taxes put U.S. manufacturers at disadvantage::By Phyllis Schlafly

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by booger

Most likely, "Unions".

Wrong answer....

Japanese auto workers reach out to U.S. union

Thursday, August 3, 2006 at 07:13 EDT

DETROIT — Japanese auto workers would like to join forces with US unions, a leader of the Confederation of Japanese Auto Workers said Tuesday. Labor leaders of both countries need a common agenda, according to Isao Yoshida, the leader of a JAW delegation touring North America.

Yoshida sidestepped a question on whether Japanese workers would assist the United Auto Workers as they try to organize U.S. workers at plants operated here by Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Yoshida said that the JAW is a member of the International Metalworkers Federation, the umbrella organization for unions representing auto workers, and believes workers should belong to unions.

source- Japan Today - News - Japanese auto workers reach out to U.S. union

It appears by this story in the Japan Today newspaper that Toyota has workers in unions in Japan also.

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by booger

Most likely, "Unions".

As Bubba says,

Let us know when the unions start designing the cars, selecting the materials, performing the marketing, setting corp strategy, etc. Until then maybe you might want to look at "management"

[booger]

Just look at the wage scales, cola's, medical, retirements, work ethics, pollytics, costly demands, and other life sucking demands out of a business. I have belong to a LARGE union, have seen how it works. Had to join, did not like it. It was not Henry had in mind. As I see the unions, they have added $$$$$$$$$ to the cost of anything, they can get there hands on. UNAMERICAN.

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by booger

Just look at the wage scales, cola's, medical, retirements, work ethics, pollytics, costly demands, and other life sucking demands out of a business. I have belong to a LARGE union, have seen how it works. Had to join, did not like it. It was not Henry had in mind. As I see the unions, they have added $$$$$$$$$ to the cost of anything, they can get there hands on..

Excuse me, but who do you think gave them those benefits? Sheesh.

But given your apparent knowledge of how a business works and who makes the decision, perhaps you should be thanking the unions for helping to open up the middle class, thanking them for your holidays, health benefits, and retirement programs.

Originally Posted by booger

UNAMERICAN.

Hey Army, I thought it was the American thing to do to make money? Why does Booger hate America and Americans so much?