Looking 10 years younger than his 59 years, Akio Toyoda stood solo on a stage in front of roughly 2,500 people at the Tokyo Motor Show to ask a simple yet altogether risky question.
"What wows you?" Toyoda said, rhetorically. "What gets your pulse racing?"
A Corolla? A Camry? The Highlander or Prius? Toyotas. Safe buys. Reliable. Efficient.
Spicy as sushi, without the wasabi. Wow factor?
Toyoda, CEO of Toyota Motor Corp., the world's No. 1 auto maker, believes the company must build upon its reputation for reliability to prosper. His company heads into the 2016 buying season touting emotional attachment between (wo)man and machine. The messaging is strategic. In multiple conversations last week, one executive, one designer, one engineer, one marketer after another preached his new gospel: Environmental responsibility … sure. Rapidly advancing technology … inevitably. But bottom line, the Toyota must be seen as "fun to drive."
So, at the show, Toyota, a company reputed for playing down the middle of the fairway, is displaying products to demonstrate unbridled versatility.
- A dune-buggyish Kikai
- The lightweight Toyota S-FR sports car (not to be confused with 1,000 luxurious Scion FR-S sports cars being released in the United States)
- A mean-looking C-HR crossover concept
- A dirt-caked Land Cruiser
- The next-generation hybrid Prius sedan, redesigned with a sportier look and feel
- A Lexus LF-FC concept sedan with a sleek roofline and 21-inch aluminum wheels designed to appear ready to take on twisting roads
- A Toyota FCV (fuel-cell vehicle) that would double as a power source
Said Toyoda: "Each represents an effort … to give form to our concept of 'wow.' " Added Toyota Canada vice-president Stephen Beatty: "From heavy-duty off-roaders to sports cars, all things that say, 'Man, that could be fun,'We're trying to identify with the consumer by discovering what their 'wow' is."
In Canada, Toyota believes the relaunched Yaris, a subcompact with upscale touches, has potential to hit a chord with young professionals acquiring their first new car, and the fourth-generation Lexus RX, a luxury crossover, is targeted to comprise about half of that brand's sales. The revamped Corolla is starting to be recognized in the marketplace. In the hybrid segment, while the Camry leads the way in sales, it is to be joined by the redesigned Prius and the crossover RAV4. Normally, these products would be reasons for unbridled optimism. Yet, they are being introduced in the wake of cratered gasoline prices and selling fuel efficiency isn't the way to go presently.
"We have seen in the past year how consumer behaviour shifts – and not in the right direction – so we have to bring it around," Beatty says. "With the new Prius, it's not about trying to appeal to consumers on the basis of the most environmentally advanced vehicle on the market, but rather how it's much more compelling to look at, more engaging to drive, with a higher sense of seat quality, and an interior that hits all those emotional hot buttons."
Here's the trick: As manufacturers race toward government-imposed fuel performance standards, consumers are challenged to distinguish one aerodynamically designed car from another. Muddying the market further are rapidly advancing technologies such as automated driving, parking assist, pedestrian detection and choices of infotainment. For Toyota, along with its brands Lexus and Scion, the challenge is to distinguish itself.
"We realized that we nailed quality and nailed customer experience, but consumers today are really looking for something more emotional," said executive vice-president Mark Templin, who leads the company's luxury brand, Lexus. "We have become more focused on design, true craftsmanship and personalization of the experience. Akio often says, 'We need to be a lifestyle brand that happens to sell cars.'"
The symbol of this ambition is Lexus Intersect, a three-level building tucked inconspicuously onto a downtown Tokyo side street. There's a casual, upscale restaurant upstairs, a coffee shop and display area on the main floor and a members-only dining room. Behind the basement bar, the label on a bottle of single-malt scotch is autographed by Toyoda himself. The message: The Lexus melds with an aspirational lifestyle. Two more Intersects, in Dubai and New York, will open soon and don't be surprised to see one in Vancouver or Toronto down the road.
The U.S. Justice Department slapped Toyota with a $1.2-billion (U.S.) penalty for misleading the public about the danger of sticking gas pedals and floor mats that trapped the gas pedal, both of which caused sudden-acceleration. Shameful as that episode was for a company rooted in Japanese culture – in Tokyo, respectful bowing remains unabated; fines are imposed for smoking in public – the episode had the ironic internal benefit of improving communication with consumers.
You'll be hearing a lot about Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). The 2008-09 recession caused the company to rethink its manufacturing; at the time, Toyoda said, vehicles were being constructed on 100 different platforms worldwide, with some 800 engine variants. That wasn't a sustainable business model. The company has standardized interiors, stiffened the chassis, lowered the centre of gravity to improve handling, and improved driver vision by lowering the hood where the windshield is supported. The Prius will be the first of the TNGA sedans.
"We had more than 20 years of trial and error, and realized we needed to change the way we do things," Nobuyori Kodaira, executive vice-president and board member, said in an interview. "We needed a new global architecture. We needed structural reform to help create a better class of vehicles in every market."
Last week, Toyota demonstrated its automated driving technology on a highway in Tokyo, the driver leaving his hands off the steering wheel of a Lexus for about five kilometres, from an on-ramp to an off-ramp. The company also demonstrated safety technology – automatic braking when a pedestrian dummy appeared out of nowhere in a parking lot and sensors mounted on light poles communicating with on-board computers about cars hidden behind oncoming large vehicles, and pedestrians in crosswalks.
Globe Drive editor Tom Maloney sits in the back seat of a Lexus in Tokyo as the driver turns on the self-driving feature and lets go of the wheel
Posted by Globe Drive on Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Most auto makers have variances of these technologies, so where's the distinction? That's why Toyota invested in TNGA and broadened its lineup. Said Beatty: "[We will have failed] if we haven't found a way to capture the experience of, when you walk away from your car in the driveway, you stop, look over shoulder and go, 'Man, I really like that car.'"
At his press conference, Toyoda brought Ichiro Suzuki onto the stage. Suzuki, just turned 42 and recently re-signed to a one-year contract by the Miami Marlins, is 65 hits shy of reaching 3,000 – baseball Hall of Fame status – despite having spent the first nine seasons of his career playing in Japan. Overlooking the atypical Kikai, SF-R and FCV, Suzuki said he's changed his batting form each season, suffering the dips while achieving overall success. "Growth doesn't always go in a straight line," he said.
The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Content was not subject to approval.