Friday, July 25, 2008

Toyota Continues to Improve

...and my guess is that they will do so -- continually.

So the latest business news is that Toyota will probably be the #1 auto manufacturer in the world -- displacing GM -- at the end of this year. Now Toyota publicly states that they do not place much stock in being #1 (and I believe those statements), but there are a couple of important points related to this news. First, Toyota got the lead during a period of (arguable) global economic decline by increasing sales by 2% versus GM's sales decline of 3% over the same period. Second, at these sales levels, Toyota continues to turn a profit while GM continues to lose money.

How much longer will GM and the other US auto manufacturers continue to do business within antiquated paradigms? They can only lose money for so long.

Where I've Been