Toyota (TM) pulled ahead of GM (GM) as the world’s No.1 automaker during the first quarter of the year. The Japanese company sold 2.348 million vehicles in the quarter compared to GM’s 2.26.
But, being in first place may not be all that it is cracked up to be. Over the last year, Toyota’s stock is up about 10%. Shares of GM and DaimlerChrysler (DCX) are up closer to 45%. Even Ford’s (F) shares are up slightly more than Toyota’s.
Quality gets harder to monitor as Toyota spread across the world. The company had more recalls in the US last year than the domestic car companies did.
According to AutoBlog, the number of managers leaving Toyota is rising with the pressure of their jobs and long hours. They write that "In a document obtained by Automotive News, ToMoCo engineers and managers are getting worn out,"
And, of course, Toyota is now the brand that rivals try to knock off in their marketing. Recently Ford began to make claims that its cars are on par with Toyota’s for quality.
Being is first place really isn’t much fun.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about
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