Toyota Global Unification Strategy

Toyota Motor Corporation has secured investment in future technologies by globally unifying vehicular platforms and processes.

- Ashish Bhatia and Deepti Thore

Toyota Motor Corporation is not new to building vehicles on common platforms with common parts. Pursuing a global unification strategy to consolidate vehicular platforms and processes, it largely revolves on the principle of securing investment for future technologies with the help of cost-savings from the present. After all, the erstwhile business practice of appointing an independent chief engineer to each new model project and meet local demands had led to the company accumulating 100 platforms and sub platforms in the original equipment manufacturer’s lineup. On the components front, the number of powertrains to cater to these platforms was pegged at 800 making it hard for Toyota to improve the universe of models during its production lifespan.

Speaking at the FY2020 results announced on May 12, 2020, averred Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation,“Just before the global financial crisis, while operating income increased due to favourable exchange rates and increased vehicle sales, our earnings structure excluding the effect of foreign exchange rates was not good by any means due to a large increase in fixed costs.”