Toyota unveils new ‘global architecture’ for growth

Toyota’s “New Global Architecture” is similar to solutions being pursued by other automakers. PHOTO Toyota

The world’s top-selling automaker outlined a new “architecture” centred on product development and manufacturing initiatives it hopes will be more fail-proof against quality problems, and allow it to keep growing in a “sustainable” way.

The first cars under the system, medium-sized front-wheel drive cars, will roll out later this year, and be expanded to half its lineup by 2020, the Japanese automaker said.

Executive Vice-President Mitsuhisa Kato acknowledged that managing the company’s global scope and model lineup had become an increasing challenge.

“It is making our effort to come out with ever better cars increasingly difficult,” he told reporters at headquarters in Toyota city, central Japan.

He pointed to how President Akio Toyoda had decided to taken an “intentional pause” in rapid growth to strengthen the automaker’s competitiveness.

The recall fiasco resulted in more than 10 million vehicles being recalled around the world, mostly in the U.S., for a range of problems, spanning faulty brakes, sticky gas pedals and ill-fitting floor mats. Toyota paid fines in the U.S. and faced a number of lawsuits.

Before the scandal, Toyota had a reputation for high quality, centred around its super-lean production methods that empowered workers to hone in on quality control. Toyota has acknowledged repeatedly that it had tried to grow too fast.

The plan that Kato kept calling “TNGA,” short for Toyota New Global Architecture, is similar to solutions being pursued by other global automakers, such as Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG of Germany, which are grappling with balancing quality and growth.

Toyota is facing the challenges of addressing the complexity of developing cars while costs were ballooning for new needs such as compliance and safety features, and consumers weren’t willing to pay more, said Deutsche Securities senior analyst Kurt Sanger after hearing Kato’s presentation.

“It’s impressive in its aspirations and frankly the scale,” he said of Toyota’s plans.

In 2014, Toyota sold 10.23 million vehicles, beating out Volkswagen and General Motors Co.

In a demonstration at one of Toyota’s plants, it showed a variety of technologies it had developed to grow ever leaner while making good cars, ranging from better synthetic leathers to shinier paint jobs.

Toyota said it had programmed robots to simulate the delicate hand movements of a craftsman to shape a car’s body. It also created its own way of screwing with lasers that shortened the welding of each screw from 2 seconds to 0.3 seconds. It shortened the line for stamping a metal part from 20 metres (65 feet) to 2 metres (6 feet) by making the machines smaller.

Toyota said it will continue to focus on keeping costs down, while taking on the new steps such as using existing plants and facilities to carry out the changes.

Production lines will be simplified and slimmed down, downsizing facilities such as painting booths, and switching to equipment that sits on the plant floor, rather than suspended from above, as is standard today.

Other efficiency measures include:

• Improving the basic vehicle parts such as platforms, which will become more sturdy and rigid for increased safety, as well as powertrains, such as gasoline engines, that will be in all the vehicles.
• Boosting fuel efficiency it offers through an aggressive push in hybrids, which switch back and forth between a gas engine and an electric motor to deliver an efficient drive, such as the Prius.
• Improved handling by lowering the centre of gravity of vehicles.
• Enhancing safety features through sensors, radars and cameras that avoid and detect crashes.