Toyota E-Car Segment
By Casiah, Hector, Maddison, Geng, Kevin
Toyota’s Operating Philosophy
“Contributing to the society through the manufacture of automobiles”
https://global.toyota/en/sustainability/esg/social-contribution/
Background
History: Corporation started with the division of Automatic Looms that was then directed towards the production of Cars Later on. They evolved in their ideas and then aim to come up with E-cars on which they are currently working.
Mission: To find a way to get the car Runnings without the involvement of fossil fuels and to touch the zero emission till 2050 via electrified cars.
What and How?: They are ready to invest more than $35 billion to come up with 30 battery vehicles by 2030. Also, they want to push the sales of electric batteries over 3.5 million units per year.
How is Toyota Building for the E-Car Segment?
Toyota is building a manufacturing plant in North Carolina exclusively to expand into the e-car segment
A new company will be built via its Toyota Tsusho subsidiary and start manufacturing e-car batteries by 2025
Toyota will or could receive well over $430 million in cash incentives, tax breaks and infrastructure upgrades from the state of North Carolina and local governments if it meets job creation and investment goals, according to officials and documents
The plant in North Carolina is strategically aligned with existing plants in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama and Texas.
According to Toyota’s CEO, North Carolina offers the right infrastructure, high quality education system, access to a diverse and skilled workforce, and a welcoming environment for doing business.
Toyota plans to sell 2 million zero emission vehicles consisting of fully electro and hydro powered technologies worldwide by 2030.
In the United States, Toyota hopes to sell between 1.5 – 1.8 million fully or partially electric vehicles by 2030.
Toyota is filing a patent for potentially groundbreaking technology for its e-car segment. The technology would allow for a vehicle to vehicle energy transfer even while vehicles are in motion.
Is Building the Best Fit?
So Why Build?
Building allows Toyota to grow its existing resources targeted towards e-car production without interfering with manufacturing of existing vehicles
Toyota already has the highest selling hybrid technologies in the United States and can easily retrain its labor force towards e-cars
Toyota holds a patent for
How is Toyota Borrowing via contract for the E-Car Segment?
Mazda, Denso, and Toyota
Jointly develop a basic structural tech for e-cars
Signed a contract to jointly develop basic structural technologies for e-cars
Establish a new company consisting of selected engineers from the three companies
Ensure efficient implementation of the joint technological development projects
Huge investment and time
Capable of covering a wide variety of vehicle segments and types to ensure flexible and rapid response to market trends
Mini vehicles, passenger vehicles, SUVs, and light trucks
Aims to innovate the development process by combining the strengths of each company
Mazdas bundled product planning and prowess in computer modeling-based development
Denso’s electronics tech
Toyota TNGA platform
The new company will engage in the following
Research into the characteristics that define optimum performance and functions of EVs from the individual and whole of the vehicle
Verification of component installation and vehicle performance realized by the characteristics achieved
Examination of the optimum concept for each car classification with regard to each component and each type of vehicle realized by achieving 1 &2
Equal amount of developmental resources, efficient development process
Enable the creation of appealing EVs that embody unique identities of each brand and avoid commoditization of EVs
Companies aim to create a business structure that is open to participation by other automakers and suppliers
Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation
Hino, Isuzu, Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu
Helping the Japanese Alliance expand its focus from trucks to smaller cars
Expand into a different market segment of small cars → better mobility society
Alliance to face the growing competition from tech giants and other rivals making electric or driverless cars → increase entry barriers into the e-car segment
Toyota & Isuzu = capital alliance to bolster competitive edge in connected, commercial cars
Both companies account for 80% of the commercial vehicles in Japan
reduced competition
Toyota and BYD → build an affordable e-car
Small and affordable electric sedan in the Chinese market
BYD providing key technologies – blade battery cells with LFP chemistry
Invest 50-50, engineers from both companies working under the same roof on EV R&D
Toyota and Panasonic
R&D of the cylindrical battery cells in Chinese-market
Solid-state battery technology → prerequisite to mass EV adoption
How is Toyota Borrowing via alliance for the E-Car Segment?
Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation
Hino, Isuzu, Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu
Focus on building smaller e-cars
Toyota and BYD → build an affordable e-car
Small and affordable electric sedan in the Chinese market
BYD providing key technologies – blade battery cells with LFP chemistry
Invest 50-50, engineers from both companies working under the same roof on EV R&D
Toyota and Subaru → develop a platform to underpin an electric SUV
Markets outside of China → U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan
Toyota provided: connected and EV tech
Subaru provided: all-wheel-drive technology
Tighten alliance with rivals to shift into EVs → increase entry barriers and decrease competition
Toyota and Panasonic
R&D of the cylindrical battery cells in Chinese-market
Solid-state battery technology → prerequisite to mass EV adoption
Is Borrowing the Best Fit?
Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation
Narrow Scope? → Yes, they will share R&D, production, and engineering
Compatible Goals? → Yes, expand the circle of cooperation to cover commercial and mini vehicles
Toyota and BYD
Narrow Scope? → No, they are all going to be working on R&D in the same facility run by a Toyota employee chairman
Compatible Goals? → Yes, get Toyota caught up on battery-electric technology after falling behind from focusing on hybrid vehicles
Toyota and Panasonic
Narrow Scope? → Yes, testing battery-tech together
Compatible Goals? → Yes, create a battery that allows for mass EV adoption
Toyota and Subaru
Narrow Scope? → Yes, building technology and know-how
Compatible Goals? → Yes, fill a niche for both, neither has a battery-electric vehicle
Toyota and Tesla
Narrow Scope? → Yes, sharing manufacturing, production, and R&D practices
Compatible Goals? → Yes, learn from each others techniques to enhance their business practices
So, Why Alliances?
Borrowing allows Toyota to increase entry barriers by partnering with competitors
Also decreasing potential for new competition
Allows Toyota to move from hybrid vehicles to battery-electric
After years of developing hybrid technology, Toyota has realized they are behind in the e-car segment
Alliances will allow them to work with competitors to share information and manufacturing techniques, so they do not fall behind in the industry
Exchange of knowledge
Expand into new markets
Expanding into e-car: mini car, mini truck, SUV
Allows them to follow their philosophy of creating better mobility for society using sustainable practices
Share the financial burden
Alliances help both companies to continue R&D by sharing ideas and splitting the costs, saving both parties money and time
Buy?( Feasibility of Toyota integration)
Renovo and Toyota.
“What attracted the Toyota giant to the Campbell-based company is Renovo’s automotive operating system software.”
The purpose of the acquisition is not a real acquisition to the company, and Toyota buys the technology of that company rather than Renova itself. We did not find anything about the acquisition of Toyota company of information. It is because the E-car’s core value is about the technology of software.
Geng
Growth Model Used in Expansion
• Studious speediness
• Obsession with waste
• Humility
• Studious speediness. Suppliers sometimes complain that Toyota takes forever to make a decision. But that’s usually because the company exhaustively researches all its options, then makes sure all the major stakeholders agree on a course of action. Once Toyota decides to build a car, however, the turbocharger kicks in: Toyota can move a product to market faster than almost all of its competitors.
• Obsession with waste. Toyota’s “continuous improvement” ethos is legendary throughout industry, but Magee believes the real secret is a profound disdain for inefficiency—whether it’s wasted time, excess material, or a scrap of trash on a factory floor. “At a lot of companies, if something’s going well and it’s profitable, they’ll move on to something else,”
• Humility: Toyota’s company culture emphasizes teamwork over individual stars. “Toyota executives don’t see themselves as bigger than the company or the customer or the product,” Magee says. “It’s the most humble company I’ve been in.” At Toyota factories, the plant manager doesn’t even get a reserved parking space, a perk that is practically universal among manufacturing companies.
Next Steps?
Potentially partnering with Tesla
Toyota would contribute it’s expertise in engineering
Knowledge regarding maintaining a brand
Tesla would lend it’s knowledge regarding electric cars and their revolutionary tech
Software and powertrain systems
The companies wish to build a new car platform for smaller SUVs
Past relationships:
They have worked together in the past.
Toyota was one of Tesla’s first shareholders.
In 2012, Toyota used one of Tesla’s powertrains within their RAV4.
What’s The Best (Upcoming) Fit?
Alliance?
Electric cars, Renovo
Acquisition?
Figures:
Works cited
https://www.toyota-boshoku.com/global/sustainability/social/employees/
https://www.careerbliss.com/toyota/reviews/
https://www.reuters.com/technology/toyota-buys-software-firm-renovo-accelerate-self-driving-tech-development-2021-09-28/
https://advance-lexis-com.du.idm.oclc.org/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=37cf4807-def2-414e-b3df-036bc3656e2d&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fnews%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A64SB-MRD1-JDKC-R314-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=427616&pdteaserkey=sr2&pditab=allpods&ecomp=wzvnk&earg=sr2&prid=b4ab8107-fa0c-42af-86d4-0133f290ca00
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2021/09/28/toyota-buys-campbell-startup-renovo.html
https://global.toyota/en/detail/18840443
