Toyota Group Research Articles

Характеристика сучасного світового автомобільного ринку

The article is aimed at researching the current state of the world automotive market and trends that will determine its development. The automotive industry, facilitating the global economic growth in general, is a strategic industry, stimulating the development of technology and affecting the population employment. The number of cars in the world increases annually, however, due to the existence of differences in vehicle registration rules in different countries, it is difficult to determine the exact number of cars over the world. During the research period, the global automotive market showed a tendency to increase, one of the reasons for which is a gradual decrease in the cost of cars (in accordance with the average income of the population). To analyze the provision of the population with cars, the indicator of motorization (automobilization) of the population (the number of cars per 1 thousand population) is used, which depends on the level of economic development of the separate country. The world leader, which is significantly ahead of other countries in the production of cars, is China. The United States ranks the second, the third in the world ranking of automakers is Japan. The leader among the countries – exporters of cars for more than a decade remains Germany, the second place is held by Japan, the third place – by the United States, fourth place – by Mexico, increasing exports in 2019 almost twice compared to 2016. The fifth place is held by South Korea. The world’s largest importers of cars are the United States, Germany and China. The article provides a rating of the leading companies – manufacturers of cars. The first place belongs to Volkswagen Group, the second place is held by Toyota Group, the third place is taken by Renault – Nissan – Mitsibishi, the fourth place – by General Motors, the fifth place – by Hyundai Kia from South Korea. The main trends in the global automotive market are indicated as follows: increasing the production of electromotive cars and cars with a hybrid engine; use of autonomous car driving technology; increasing the volume of car sharing; use of technology for exchanging car information with external objects, including other cars; rapid technological development of car related software.

Auto Markets in the World and Strategy of Japan’s Companies

In the world auto market, top three companies are VW(Volkswagen), Runault-Nissan-Mistubishi, and Toyota. About some selected countries and areas, China, England, Italy, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Sweden, USA, Brazil, UAE, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand are more competitive. However, the situation is different. Seeing monopolistic market countries and areas, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, France, India, and Pakistan, in particular, the influence of Japan to Taiwan, India, and Pakistan is very big. But in Korea and France, their own companies’ brands occupy the market. In Japan domestic market, the overall situation is competitive. Almost all vehicles made in Japan are Japanese brand. From now on, we have to note the development of electric vehicle (EV) and other new technologies such as automatic driving and connected car. That is because they will give a great impact on the auto industry and market of Japan. Now Japan’s auto industry is going to be consolidated into three groups, Honda, Toyota group, and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi group for seeking the scale merit of economy. Therefore, I will pay attention to the worldwide development of EV and other new technologies and the reorganization of auto companies groups.

(Keynote) The Electrodeposition and Stripping of Lithium Peroxide for Applications in Lithium-Oxygen Battery

Thanks to a high theoretical energy density combined to a relatively high operation voltage around 3 Volt versus Li+/Li, the non-aqueous Li-Air battery is a good candidate for future electric cars with an increased driving range. In principle, this battery relies on the reversible electrochemical reaction between the metallic Li and the gaseous O2 in presence of a non-aqueous electrolyte where Li+ ions and dissolved O2 molecules diffuse and react to form the ideal discharge product lithium peroxide Li2O2. However this apparently simple reaction process appears to be more complicated when put into practice. Considering the Li-O2 discharge process, there are two main models proposed in the literature to explain the oxygen reduction reaction which were unified in a single mechanism process where Li2O2 formation goes through a surface reaction or/and a solution reaction1, depending on system parameters such as the applied potential or the solvent properties. Using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) we studied the products formed in discharge as well as the reversibility of the reactions from a mass point of view during cycling.2 Regarding the Li-O2 charge process, the Li2O2 decomposition occurring is a rather sluggish and incomplete process. A lot of efforts was made in this area by the research community including in the Toyota group, and several approaches were proposed to facilitate and fasten the Li2O2 decomposition: the use of solid state catalyst of several kind (doped carbon, non-precious materials…) or soluble catalysts also called redox mediators, such as for example TTF3 (tetrathiafulvalene), TEMPO4 (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxyl), Cobalt Bis(terpyridine)5, lithium iodide6 (LiI). The mobile redox mediators, electron-hole transfer agents, aid the oxidation of Li2O2 as has been reported previously. In our EQCM study we activated in situ the TTF and confirms its usefulness on the mass reversibility of the deposition/dissolution of Li2O2 during cycling2. Later on, we performed a detailed study of the effect of LiI redox mediator on the formation and decomposition of Li2O2.7 We showed that the solvent could drastically change the mechanism of decomposition during charge8. Finally we will discuss the parameters able to influence the most the deposition and stripping of Li2O2 in a non-aqueous medium. 1 L. Johnson, C. Li, Z. Liu, Y. Chen, S. A. Freunberger, J. M. Tarascon, P. C. Ashok, B. B. Praveen, K. Dholakia, P. G. Bruce, Nature Chemistry, 6, 1091 – 1099 (2014). 2 S. Schaltin, G. Vanhoutte, M. Wu, F. Bardé, J. Fransaer, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. , 17, 12575 – 12586 (2015). 3 Y. Chen, S. A. Freunberger, Z. Peng, O. Fontaine, and P. G. Bruce, Nature Chemistry, 5, 489 – 494 (2013). 4 Y. Hase, J. Seki, T. Shiga, F. Mizuno, H. Nishikoori, H. Iba, K. Takechi, Chem. Commun., 52, 12151 – 12154 (2016). 5 Koffi P.C. Yao, J. T. Frith, S. Youssef Sayed, F. Bardé, J. R. Owen, Y. Shao-Horn, N. Garcia-Araez, J. Phys. Chem. C, 120 (30), 16290 – 16297 (2016). 6 Y. Qiao, S. Wu, Y. Sun, S. Guo, J. Yi, P. He, H. Zhou, ACS Energy Letters, 2, 8, 1869 – 1878 (2017). 7 M. Tulodziecki, G.M. Leverick, C.V; Amanchukwu, Y. Katayama, D.G. Kwabi, F. Bardé, P. Hammond, Y. Shao-Horn, Energy Environ. Sci., 10, 1828, (2017). 8 G. Leverick, M. Tułodziecki, R. Tatara, F. Bardé and Y. Shao-Horn, In Preparation

Growth strategy from the suppliers' viewpoint: a case study of Denso and Hitachi Automotive Systems

This paper aims to examine and compare the growth strategies of two Japanese mega suppliers involved in research and design of automatic braking systems, and to assess their impact on inter-firm relations and transactions. The case study approach of this paper is based on in-depth interviews and archive analysis, and draws a comparison between Denso's wide customer scope strategy and Hitachi Automotive Systems' wide product portfolio strategy. In order to analyse the relevance of these two approaches, we use the growth strategy cup framework, which consists of three parameters: customers, products, and core competences. Our findings show that Denso was successful in terms of economies of customer scope, while Hitachi Automotive Systems was more dynamic in new combination-oriented innovation. In addition, our paper discusses why Hitachi Automotive Systems managed to develop an automatic braking system faster than the Toyota Group.

Growth strategy from the suppliers' viewpoint: a case study of Denso and Hitachi Automotive Systems

This paper aims to examine and compare the growth strategies of two Japanese mega suppliers involved in research and design of automatic braking systems, and to assess their impact on inter-firm relations and transactions. The case study approach of this paper is based on in-depth interviews and archive analysis, and draws a comparison between Denso's wide customer scope strategy and Hitachi Automotive Systems' wide product portfolio strategy. In order to analyse the relevance of these two approaches, we use the growth strategy cup framework, which consists of three parameters: customers, products, and core competences. Our findings show that Denso was successful in terms of economies of customer scope, while Hitachi Automotive Systems was more dynamic in new combination-oriented innovation. In addition, our paper discusses why Hitachi Automotive Systems managed to develop an automatic braking system faster than the Toyota Group.

Time-Varying Transition Probability Matrix Estimation and Its Application to Brand Share Analysis.

In a product market or stock market, different products or stocks compete for the same consumers or purchasers. We propose a method to estimate the time-varying transition matrix of the product share using a multivariate time series of the product share. The method is based on the assumption that each of the observed time series of shares is a stationary distribution of the underlying Markov processes characterized by transition probability matrices. We estimate transition probability matrices for every observation under natural assumptions. We demonstrate, on a real-world dataset of the share of automobiles, that the proposed method can find intrinsic transition of shares. The resulting transition matrices reveal interesting phenomena, for example, the change in flows between TOYOTA group and GM group for the fiscal year where TOYOTA group’s sales beat GM’s sales, which is a reasonable scenario.

Toyota group firm invests in Anellotech

This paper studies the effectiveness of FX interventions within an inflation targeting context. I estimate the central bank reaction function, using a friction model à la Rosett. Then, I use the conditional expectation of intervention, as an instrument for actual interventions in a reduced form model of exchange rate daily-returns. Results show evidence of threshold effects in the reaction function, and indicate that intervention had a dampening effect over the daily exchange rate return's volatility, but no influence over the level of exchange rate. The central bank reacted systematically to previous-day exchange rate changes and to deviations from short-term trends.

Toyota Group firm invests in Anellotech

Toyota Group firm invests in Anellotech

Capability building and functions of SMEs in business groups: a case study of Toyota's supply chain

This paper investigates interfirm relationships from the point of view of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Toyota’s supply chain, and their capability building profiles. It addresses the overall organisation of the Toyota Group, taking into account the specific role played by SMEs. How do SMEs convert their resources in order to develop their capabilities, and what are their functions in this business group? After presenting the analytical and methodological frameworks, this paper discusses the historical development of the Toyota Group, focusing on organisational specificities built between the 1940s and 1960s. Then, it compares the trajectories of 13 SMEs in Aichi prefecture, through four main analytical cases constructed on two parameters: the nature of each firm’s capabilities and the degree of participation in collective decision-making processes. This qualitative inquiry investigates both the construction of the external boundaries of business groups, and the overall function of SMEs.

Toyoda father and son with Buddhist Nichiren school mind: endless inventor-entrepreneurs

Compared with development orientation by Tesla, BYD, and Honda, Toyota has been regarded as just focusing on the incremental improvement at manufacturing shop floors as a Japanese management style or Just In Time firm since 1980s. Among major Japanese electrical appliance manufactures as Sharp, Panasonic, and Sony have been losing against Apple and Samsung, why can only Toyota keep the Japanese representative firm position still? As key concept, an inventor-entrepreneur is a joint role as an inventor of innovative technology and a decision maker of risk management to integrate such technology and niche market and to quickly translate a new business idea into a start-up firm. As the mental supports to make possible to continue Sakichi Toyoda's invention without being discouraged by a lot of failures, there can be three: the Nichiren school of Buddhism, Sontoku Ninomiya's moral requital thought, and S. Smile's “Self-Help”. Particularly Japanese Nichiren is a Buddhism denomination's founder who propagated with robust unyielding mind in spite of much persecution and difficulty. The paper seeks to objectively try explaining economical validity of values or spirits of endless efforts until overcoming many initial failures in the invention and founding start-ups by inventor-entrepreneurs through initial negative profits period, based on respective historical trajectory of Toyota group founder, Toyoda Sakichi's loom and his son Ki-ichiro's automobile by using real options analysis. That is, we will examine the validity of firm or regional culture of investment continuity for invention and founding from a valuation perspective.

Network cohesion in global expansion: An evolutionary view

Increasingly, competitive advantage does not reside in a single firm's capabilities or resources, but in interfirm networks that compete with other networks. Recognizing that deployment of the network as a cohesive and coordinated organization is critical when it operates globally, we ask: How does global expansion, in particular entry into emerging markets, affect the cohesion of a large interfirm network and with what consequences? We examine this question through an evolutionary perspective, conceptualizing the process of variation–selection–replication–retention as one cycle of a network-level routine of global expansion. Movement through the cycle accelerates with high levels of network cohesion such that market entry and foreign establishment may become more rapid. We present a longitudinal analysis of the Toyota Group from founding through to its more recent entry into emerging markets, and identify the dangers of a diversion in any stage of this network routine. Our findings highlight the role uncertainty in the emerging market context and speed-based competition plays in the loss of network cohesion, and point to the ongoing, and possibly increased, importance of the core firm's role in maintaining network cohesion and global competitive advantage.

From hierarchy to hybrid: The evolving nature of inter-firm governance in China's automobile groups

Despite the rapid growth of automobile industry in China, much remains to be known about the governance structure especially the inter-firm relationship within the Chinese automobile groups. Against China's changing institutional environment and compared to the established knowledge on automobile group governance in Japan, this study provides a case analysis of the evolving nature of inter-firm relationship in one of China's major automobile groups, Tianjin Automotive Group (TAG). A top-down hierarchical administration characterizes the inter-firm relationship in TAG before 1999 due to the heavy influence of the old institutional arrangement. Over time, especially entering 2000, weakening institutional ties between the state and TAG forced the group to be more responsive to market changes and to systematically learn Japanese-style supplier management from a joint venture with Toyota Group. The paper provides rare insights into the evolution of governance structure among the emerging Chinese automobile groups and extends the institution-based view of strategy into the studies of inter-firm relationship in automobile industry.

Clay/Epoxy Nanocomposites

Nanocomposites are a novel class of composite materials where one of the constituents has dimensions in the range between 1 and 100 nm. Recent and ongoing research on polymer/inorganic nanocomposites has shown dramatic enhancements in stiffness, strength and thermal properties over those of polymers, without compromising on density, toughness or processibility. Such improvement in properties has been estimated to correspond to approxi

Pre-clusterization in emerging markets: the Toyota group's entry process in China

Drawing on network analysis and informing the internationalization process of Japanese firms, this study introduces an ad hoc entry strategy, termed ‘pre-clusterization’. Unlike conventional keiretsu firms, competitive suppliers in a well-integrated network can enter a new market and begin clustering in a location that the core firm targets before the full entry of the core firm. The process of pre-clusterization is illustrated using a case study of the Toyota Group in China. A number of testable propositions are presented. Findings reveal the importance of strategic collective actions when coping with intensive competition and uncertainty in emerging market contexts.

Present status and future prospects for electronics in electric vehicles/hybrid electric vehicles and expectations for wide‐bandgap semiconductor devices

AbstractToyota refers to the ability of users to continuously enjoy the convenience provided by automobiles as ‘sustainable mobility’. In order to achieve this, we are carrying out the endless challenge of minimizing the negative aspects of automobiles, such as CO2 emissions, air pollution, traffic fatalities, and congestion, while maximizing automobile comfort, enjoyment, and excitement. In the area of the environment, we believe that we can come closer to creating the ‘ultimate ecovehicle’ by increasing the environmental performance of the power train, utilizing new fuels and electrical energy, and integrating hybrid technology into all of the results. In the Toyota Group, we think that power electronics is a key technology for the automotive technology of the future. We have defined SiC and GaN as core items for breakthroughs in power electronics technologies for the future, and we are energetically pursuing research and development in those areas. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Beyond social capital: A critical approach

Introduction Sierk Horn and Adam R. Cross 1. The Rise of the Japanese Multinational Enterprise: Then and Now Peter J. Buckley Part 1: Japanese Investment Strategies for China 2. Competition Strategies of Japanese Manufacturing Firms in China mid-1990s and 2000s Tetsuo Abo 3. Spatial Determinants and Characteristics of Japanese FDI in China John Cassidy 4. The Evolution of Japanese Investment in China: From Toys to Textiles to BPO Andrew Delios 5. Cross-Border Development of Equipment Manufacturing Industries in Asia Markus Thinnes Part 2: Competitive and Localisation Strategies of Japanese MNEs 6. Cooperation or Competition in the Electronics Industry in China - Segmentation and Concentration Strategy with regard to R&D and Human Resources Development Sung-Jo Park 7. Pre-clusterization in Emerging Markets: The Toyota Group's Entry Process in China Faith Hatani 8. The Competitive Edge and Localisation Dilemma faced by Japanese Companies in China Hiroshi Itagaki Part 3: Japanese Management Practices in China 9. Multidomestic Industries from Japan and the Transfer of Organisational Practices to Chinese Subsidiaries Jos Gamble 10. Leapfrogging the Wheel of Retail: Japanese Retailing Strategies in China Sierk Horn and Katrin Horn 11. A Comparative Study of Product Development and Marketing in China and Japan Tomoo Marukawa Part 4: Japanese MNEs and Regional Integration in East and SE Asia 12. Intermodal Logistics Developments in North-East Asia - Challenges and Directions Burkhard Horn and Sam Dzever 13. Global Operations Management of Japanese companies in the Asian Region Masahiro Miyagawa 14. The Transformation of Japan Post into a Global Player Tim Goydke

Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan (review)

Reviewed by: Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan Mark Fruin (bio) Notes from Toyota-Land: An American Engineer in Japan. By Darius Mehri. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2005. xviii, 231 pages. $26.00. Darius Mehri's Notes from Toyota-Land is a colorful, diary-like account of the personal and working lives of numerous employees—regular and temporary, Japanese and non-Japanese—at a Toyota Motor affiliate somewhere in Japan during the 1990s. Anyone thinking about working for a Japanese firm in Japan or overseas should read this book, especially since insider accounts of working-for-the-Japanese, once fairly common, have all but disappeared in recent years. The subtitle, An American Engineer in Japan, coupled with the reference to Toyota in the title give the impression that readers will learn a lot about Toyota. The author, in fact, claims that his account offers a detailed account of the Toyota Production System (p. xvi). Nothing could be farther [End Page 280] from the truth. In fact, we learn little about Toyota, the Toyota Production System, interfirm relations within the Toyota group of companies, engineers and engineering practices at Toyota and its affiliates, and the Japanese automobile industry in general. We do learn about Mehri's likes and dislikes during his three-year stay in the employ of a second-tier Toyota affiliate, fictitiously named Nizumi. We also learn about his growing pro-union sympathies and his feelings that Japanese and non-Japanese workers, at least at his company, are overworked, underpaid, and not treated with much respect by many managers. Unfortunately, Mehri's account cannot be considered scholarship. There is no effort to situate his account temporally, spatially, and structurally within a network of firms that interact with Toyota and Japan's industrial structure; there is no discussion of research design and method—how data are collected and analyzed. The account is anecdotal at best and much of it hearsay. Occasionally, there is an effort to link his story to the scholarly literature on a particular topic, but the effort is unsystematic and the bibliography spotty. The latest work on Japan's industrial organization and firm-level capabilities, published in the 1980s, 1990s, and thereafter, by scholars such as Masahiko Aoki, Ronald Dore (after British Factory-Japanese Factory), Mark Fruin, Jeffrey Liker, James Lincoln and Michael Gerlach, and Ikuhiro Nonaka are not mentioned. Instead, work published 40, even 50 years ago, is cited when more recent scholarship is not. For example, Nakane Chie's 1970 thesis about Japan as a vertical society is cited, but none of the recent work that challenges Nakane is brought up. Christena Turner's studies of work and union relations in small firms and Hugh Whittaker's work on innovation in small and medium-sized firms are likewise missing. The only major and recent work on industrial organization that is cited, The Machine That Changed the World, is used as a foil. Mehri often says how misleading the study is, given his experiences in Toyota-land. But he offers no serious challenges to the findings, methods, and arguments of The Machine That Changed the World, the result of a decade-long, worldwide survey of the motor vehicle industry led by MIT. Such failings undermine the value of Notes from Toyota-Land as scholarship. However, as an American engineer's first-hand account of a multiyear sojourn in Japan's industrial heartland, Notes from Toyota-Land can be read with interest. Mark Fruin San Jose State University Mark Fruin Mark Fruin is a professor in the College of Business at San Jose State University. His recent publications include "Business Groups and Interfirm Networks" in Oxford Handbook of Business History (Oxford, 2006), and his current research is on Japanese firms in the world today and on energy efficient and low greenhouse gas emissions technologies of Japanese firms. Copyright © 2007 Society for Japanese Studies

All Toyota Tribological Innovation to Realize “Zeronize” and “Maximize” Society

While environmental and energy issues are increasingly attracting global attention, the world is heading towards a sustainable society in which limited resources are used effectively. In these circumstances, the Toyota group is aiming for the realization of “Zeronize”, a term coined to represent the minimizing of negative impacts, and “Maximize”, meaning to maximize positive impacts. Our current, and future, tribological innovation of vehicle and process technology to realize these will be described in this report.

The Darker Side of Lean: An Insider's Perspective on the Realities of the Toyota Production System

Executive Overview The Toyota Production System (TPS) has been lauded as the pinnacle of flexible, just-in-time manufacturing and design and the founder of “lean work” systems, which claim to improve product quality and employee productivity. American automobile manufacturers readily adopted the “Toyota Way” and many of the management practices in service industries, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) are biased on its fundamental principles. The author of this paper, Darius Mehri, is an American-born computer simulation engineer who worked in a Toyota group company for three years, observing this system firsthand and conducting his own qualitative research on what he considers the true impact of lean work: the human cost. As a participant observer who was inculcated in Japanese social and workplace culture, Mehri takes an examination of TPS well beyond what many studies American and European scholars have been able to go. His assessment is guided by a distinction which is fundamental to understanding...

Japanese subcontracting in mainland China: a study of Toyota and Shanghai Koito

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to better understand Japanese manufacturing in mainland China and clarify how traditional Japanese subcontracting has changed and is changing to fit the economic environment there.Design/methodology/approachThis article looks at the subcontracting practices of the Toyota Group along with the evolution of Shanghai Koito's operations in mainland China. The research for this study was conducted from 1995‐2003 and is based on visits to Toyota's China headquarters in Beijing and its technical center in Tianjin, Shanghai Koito Company, Sichuan Toyota, and Tianjin Toyota.FindingsWhen Japanese style subcontracting in mainland China is compared with that of traditional Japanese subcontracting, a stark contrast is revealed. First of all, it is clear that Japanese‐affiliated enterprises in China are moving away from an insular, vertical subcontracting structure dominated by a single assembler. In the new subcontracting system, characteristic features – such as a broad customer base and localization – contrast with earlier features that included a substantial delegation of authority, regulated interfirm competition, and long‐term relations.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is based on two case studies and so, while its findings may be accurate for the companies in question, helpful for understanding Japan's auto industry in mainland China, and may be more widely applicable, the findings are unlikely to be universally applicable.Practical implicationsWith short‐term guidance corresponding to the needs of localization and the effective use of cheap labor coming to the fore, the examples of Toyota and Shanghai Koito may provide helpful illustrations of the kind of adaptation needed to succeed in mainland China. In particular, by moving away from a reliance on its traditional Japanese customers for sales, Shanghai Koito seems to have positioned itself well to avoid the hardship of dwindling sales that other more traditionally oriented Japanese suppliers have begun to face. Moreover, its growing independence may be an important indicator of what the future may look like for Japanese manufacturing.Originality/valueLooking at the history of industrial development in East Asia, the adaptation of Japanese business practices to different economies in the region has been an important theme. This study provides an up‐to‐date review of a number of current issues facing Japanese automakers as they develop their operations in mainland China.