Toyota

Is Detroit’s Comeback Over? Carmakers Lose Market Share Gains

Last year, everyone in the auto industry was chuffed about Detroit’s comeback.

American Landscape, by Sheeler

The carmakers were enjoying a healthy rebound from the bankruptcies at General Motors and Chrysler. And for a while, at least, Chrysler outsold Toyota to make the Detroit Three the Big Three again.

But this year, Detroit’s market share has been slipping, and that has ramifications all across the Midwest.

In fact, the auto companies have fallen back to the market share level they held in 2009, as GM and Chrysler were struggling. In a piece for Forbes.com, I look at what happened to the Detroit companies during the first quarter.

Basically, there are three issues: Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, auto industry, Big Three, Chrysler, Detroit, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen

April 3, 2012 | 2:42 PM | By Micki Maynard

Hey, Consumers: You’re Paying Record Prices For Many Cars And Trucks

The auto industry reported strong sales in March, and for some auto companies, the news was even better.

Buyers at General Motors, Chrysler, Nissan and Hyundai paid record amounts for new vehicles during May, according to True Car.com, which tracks statistics about buying habits.

True Car bases its calculations on transaction prices: the final amount people pay, after incentives, bargaining and trade-ins. The numbers include the whole range of vehicles that the companies sell, such as cars, sport utilities, pickups, and minivans.

Transaction prices are way up since the beginning of 2010. Take a look at this chart by Meg Cramer of Changing Gears, which shows the industry average and what consumers at major carmakers are paying.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Industry, car prices, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, incentives, March, Nissan, Toyota, transaction prices

March 28, 2012 | 11:00 AM | By Micki Maynard

Toyota Is Back To Its Old Self, Growing Again

Over the past few years, Toyota’s world was Total Recall — not the movie, but the struggles it faced over defects. But this year, Toyota is back to its old self, adding jobs and making investments.

It’s already spending $400 million to hire 400 more people in Princeton, Ind., and it’s brought its Blue Springs, Miss., plant up to full staff. Now, Toyota is expanding again, at its newest Canadian plant in Woodstock, Ontario.

Toyota said today it’s investing $80 million (Canadian) and hiring 400 more people as it increases production of the small RAV4 sport utility. The company will go from building 150,000 RAVs a year to 200,000 annually.

Toyota has operations all over the Midwest, including its big design and research center in Ann Arbor, Mich., its headquarters outside Cincinnati and many suppliers scattered everywhere. So, any step Toyota takes is important to our region.

Here’s a look at some of the strategic thinking behind what Toyota is doing.

FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, Ann Arbor, canada, Indiana, jobs, Toyota

February 20, 2012 | 11:30 AM | By Micki Maynard

After Laying Low, Toyota Is Back On A Production March

Toyota put a lot of things on hold the past few years, when its sales were devastated by recalls, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and supply problems due to floods in Thailand. But now, it appears to be back on a production march that could affect the Midwest.

Last week, Toyota’s North American president, Yoshi Inaba, said the company was looking at expanding production in North America, including building more vehicles at its plants in Ontario, just a few hours from Detroit in southwestern Ontario.

According to the Globe and Mail, those steps would include producing its Prius hybrid models in North America for the first time and boosting production of Lexus models at its Cambridge, Ontario factory.

The steps have a direct effect on our region, because Toyota has hundreds of engineers in Michigan, and parts suppliers all over the Midwest. It also has a big assembly plant in Princeton, Ind., which just built its 3 millionth car, and where Toyota is investing another $400 million. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Industry, Ann Arbor, Ontario, production, Toyota, yen

February 8, 2012 | 2:48 PM | By Micki Maynard

Indiana Gets A $400 Million Infusion from Toyota

Toyota said Wednesday it plans to move production of the Highlander, a mid-sized SUV, out of Japan next year and into its plant in Princeton, Ind.

It will spend $400 million to expand its operations there, and once that’s completed, the plant will supply Russia and Australia along with North America. Toyota also builds the Highlander in China for the Chinese market only, but it says Highlander will no longer be built in Japan after 2013.

The investment will add 400 new jobs at the Princeton plant, which employs 4,800 people. The factory, which is southern Indiana, builds the Highlander, Sequoia SUV and the Sienna minivan. Toyota says it plans to build about 50,000 more Highlanders a year there.

“That’s great news for this region, for our American customers, and for the U.S economy,” Yoshi Inaba, Toyota’s North American chief executive, said in a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago. Every new auto job, he said, creates three and a half “spin off” jobs to support those workers.

FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, Indiana, Toyota

January 24, 2012 | 9:45 AM | By Micki Maynard

Is Volkswagen The Reason For Indiana’s Right to Work Push?

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels got a lot of attention late last year when he finally came out in favor of a Right to Work law. Now, Daniels is suggesting that Volkswagen, in part, is the reason.

Speaking on Inside INdiana Business Television last week, Daniels said he was frustrated that his state was losing opportunities to compete for projects to other states that had Right to Work laws, which prevent unions from collecting mandatory dues.

Mitch Daniels Talks About Right to Work

One such project, according to the governor, was the assembly plant that Volkswagen recently opened in Chattanooga, Tenn. “I couldn’t get VW to return our call,” the governor said. “We’ve won on Honda, we won on Toyota, we’re clearly the fastest growing automotive state, and we couldn’t even get them to talk to us.”

Daniels. by the way, is giving the Republican response tonight to President Obama’s state of the union address.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Politics, Honda, Indiana, Mitch Daniels, Right to Work, Toyota, Volkswagen

January 19, 2012 | 1:32 PM | By Micki Maynard

The Top Spot Goes To General Motors Once Again

General Motors has ranked second among the world’s carmakers for the past three years. But now, GM looks like it’s back in the top spot.

GM is once again the world's biggest carmaker. Photo by Chris via Flickr.

GM said Thursday that it sold 9,025,942 vehicles last year, 7.6 percent more than in 2010, according to The New York Times. Its closest competitor was Volkswagen, whose sales grew 14 percent to 8.156 million.

Toyota, which has led the global car market for the past three years, looks like it has fallen to No. 3. It hasn’t released its 2011 auto sales numbers yet. But last month, it estimated that will sell 7.9 million vehicles in 2011, and 8.48 million vehicles for this year.

The title returns bragging rights to Detroit, and gives GM a new challenger to worry about. Meanwhile, Toyota, whose Princeton, Indiana, plant just built its 3 millionth vehicle, is still working on its recovery from recalls, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and floods in Thailand.

Does it matter to you if GM is No. 1? Let us know what you think of the sales race.

FILED UNDER: Industry, auto industry, General Motors, Toyota

January 19, 2012 | 9:49 AM | By Micki Maynard

Midwest Memo: Emergency Plan For Flint, Wisconsin Governor’s Race, Grateful Dead

Flint Plan: Michael Brown, the emergency manager of Flint, Mich., unveiled his plan yesterday for reducing an $11.3 million deficit. Not surprisingly, one of his top priorities is to overhaul bargainingagreements with city unions, something an emergency manager is allowed to do under Public Act 4, passed last year by the Michigan Legislature. Brown also wants to reopen the city jail, which closed in 2008.

Wisconsin Candidates: Democrats are raising their hands for the opportunity to challenge Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who appears to face an almost certain recall election this fall. Former Dane County chief executive Kathleen Falk said the 1 million signatures submitted by opponents to Walker on Monday convinced her to run. State Senator Tim Cullen of Janesville also plans to enter the race.

Toyota Milestone: It may be hard for car buffs to believe, but Toyota’s plant in Princeton, Ind., will turn 14 years old this year. And this week, it built its 3 millionth vehicle. The factory, in southwest Indiana, makes the Sienna minivan, which was the best selling family van in the United States last year. It has 4,100 workers and an annual payroll of $288 million.

Rock Hall: Dead Heads, listen up: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland will celebrate the Grateful Dead this spring with an exhibit called The Long Strange Trip. It opens April 12, giving you plenty of time to launder your tie-dye t-shirts and get out your Jerry Garcia ties.

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Jobs, Midwest Memo, Politics, Cleveland, Flint, Midwest Memo, Toyota, Wisconsin

January 10, 2012 | 4:09 PM | By Micki Maynard

All Eyes In Detroit Are On The Auto Show

Media previews for the North American International Auto Show kicked off this week, with plenty of panache and swagger.

Carmakers are rolling out dozens of new models at the show, ranging from Cadillac and Chevrolet, to Ford and Lincoln, and German automaker BMW.

Japan’s two struggling giants, Honda and Toyota, hope to make a comeback in 2012 after dismal results in 2011.

The auto show always features splashy introductions. Here’s a look at the new Ford Fusion from our friends at Michigan Radio.

Are you visiting the show? Do you some favorites?

FILED UNDER: Industry, BMW, Chrysler, Detroit, Ford, General Motors, Honda, North American International Auto Show, Toyota

November 17, 2011 | 11:23 AM | By Micki Maynard

Will A Midwestern Town Ever Get Another Foreign Car Plant?

The wait is finally over for Tupelo, MS, which must feel like the Kate Middleton of car towns. Today, Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda was set to join Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to finally open a $1.3 billion factory in Blue Springs, just outside Tupelo. The dedication is taking place two years after the factory was originally set to open.

Delay or not, many Midwest governors must wish they were in his shoes. While our region has a few foreign car plants, as well as engineering centers, it has only gotten one of the big factories announced in past few years, the Honda plant in Greensburg, Ind.

Other states have beat out their Midwest rivals, like Georgia, which landed Kia, Tennessee, which got the newly opened Volkswagen plant, and Toyota, which picked Mississippi.

That state came up with $294 million in incentives, or $148,000 for each of the 2,000 jobs the plant is set to provide. About 1,300 people have been hired thus far, earning a starting wage of $15 an hour, rising to $21 after five years.

But Tupelo, a town of 38,000 about 90 minutes south of Memphis, has had to be patient. I wrote about the long wait today for The Atlantic Monthly’s Atlantic Cities page. Continue reading →