You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Science & Technology
Toyota Plans Ultra-Inexpensive Car
2007-01-23
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to build a low-cost car undercutting Renault's emerging-market Logan through a "radical" rethink in design and production, the president of the fast-growing Japanese automaker said.

"The focus is on low-cost technology," Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe told Britain's Financial Times newspaper in an interview published Monday. He declined to set a price for a low-cost car but said it would be "at least" less than the Logan.

Renault has started production of the Logan, which will cost from 5,000 euros (6,200 dollars) on up, touted as a budget model for consumers in emerging economies such as China and Russia that conforms to European standards. Watanabe said that Toyota could slash the price by targetting costs throughout production.

"Everything from design to production methods will be radically changed and we are thinking of a really ultra-low-cost way of designing, using ultra-low-cost materials, even developing new materials if necessary," he said.

The plan would create a new challenge to struggling US automakers.

Toyota is set this year to overtake General Motors as the world's largest automaker. The Japanese automaker has cashed in by pioneering environmentally friendly hybrid cars and has also seen success with its luxury Lexus line.

What's it made of?
Posted by:BigEd

#8  
Posted by: DMFD   2007-01-23 19:58  

#7  Hell, sounds like every Soviet/Eastern Bloc "people's car" ever made. What will kill these concepts is a little thing called the used car market. Japan is already dumping its used cars on Russia (Japanese laws make it more expensive to fix a 10 year car than the car is worth); the US tends to dump its used cars down the line into Mexico and Central America; and a huge number of West European used cars are heading East to Russia and South to North Africa. Hell, Iraq has become the used car dumping grounds for the wealthier ME countries.
These are cars with predominately metal components and bodies, which can be worked on/repaired/rigged by very low-tech locals. The plastic car sounds like the VW Bug replacement for Europe and Southeast Asia.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2007-01-23 18:03  

#6  Didn't somebody try this back in the 1980's?

I think it was called the Yugo.

(Except for the station wagon, which was called the Wego.)

*ducks and runs for cover* ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2007-01-23 17:37  

#5  Plastic cars, stuck together with glue.

Didn't Ford develop a plastic engine a few years ago? They could probably sell a license to both Toyota and Tata
Posted by: john   2007-01-23 17:22  

#4  So Renault makes a low cost car it named after the worst airport in the world?
No thanks...seeing "Renault" was enough.
Posted by: tu3031   2007-01-23 17:16  

#3  India's Tata group is working on a $2000 car.
McKinsey - Interview with Ratan N. Tata

How do you make such an undertaking profitable?

Today we're producing a $7,000 car, the Indica. Here we're talking about a $2,200 car, which will be smaller and will be produced in larger volumes, with all the high-volume parts manufactured in one plant. We're also looking at more use of plastics on the body and at a very low-cost assembly operation, with some use of modern-day adhesives instead of welding. But the car is in every way a car, with an engine, a suspension, and a steering system designed for its size. We will meet all the emissions requirements. We now have some issues concerning safety, mainly because of the car's modest size, but we will resolve them before the car reaches the market, in about three years' time.

In addition--and this again touches on the social dimension--we're looking at small satellite units, with very low breakeven points, where some of the cars could be assembled, sold and serviced. We would encourage local entrepreneurs to invest in these units, and we would train these entrepreneurs to assemble the fully knocked-down or semi-knocked-down components that we would send to them, and they would also sell the assembled vehicles and arrange for their servicing. This approach would replace the dealer, and therefore the dealer's margin, with an assembly-cum-retail operation that would be combined with very low-cost service facilities.
Posted by: john   2007-01-23 17:13  

#2  Plastics.
Posted by: Mr. McGuire   2007-01-23 17:13  

#1  Please move to group 3. Thanks. I though I had selected it.
Posted by: BigEd   2007-01-23 16:40  

00:00