Ford recently said that Toyota would pass it to become the second largest car marketer in North America. Ford’s share in the US may slip as low as 14% and Toyota looks like it could be over 16% next year.
The barrage on US car companies continues Toyota’s sales figures for global vehicle shipments have just come out. Projections are for the Japanese company to ship 9.42 million cars. As GM is about to lose a crown it has held for decades, Toyota’s shares hit an all-time high.
What could change the picture. Two things, neither of which is likely to happen. The UAW could concede that its grip on labor at GM is over and make the concessions necessary to help the big US firm regain profitability in North America. If GM put most of its financial gains into product development and marketing, perhaps that would make a difference.
The second possibility, however remote, is that the quality problems that have begun to slip in to Toyota’s growing network of plants could undermine its reputation for making cars with almost no defects.Toyota has record recalls in 2006.
Only Toyota is likely to stop Toyota. If it gets its hands on production quality, is strength for so many years, GM is toast Unless it merges with Ford.
Douglas A. McIntye can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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