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Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota's surge into U.S. market, dies at 97
Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota’s surge into U.S. market, dies at 97
washingtonpost.com
Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota’s surge into U.S. market, dies at 97
An engineer by training, Mr. Toyoda focused on turning the Toyota assembly line into one of the world's most efficient and nimble.
Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota’s surge into U.S. market, dies at 97
An engineer by training, Mr. Toyoda focused on turning the Toyota assembly line into one of the world's most efficient and nimble.
Link to tweet
Shoichiro Toyoda, who led Toyota’s surge into U.S. market, dies at 97
By Brian Murphy
February 14, 2023 at 8:18 p.m. EST
Shoichiro Toyoda, the second-generation leader of Japanese auto giant Toyota, who oversaw a major U.S. expansion in the 1980s with manufacturing plants and ambitious goals as Detroit’s carmakers struggled with the punishing realities of global competition, died Feb. 14 at 97. ... Toyota confirmed the death but did not provide further details.
Paul A. Eisenstein, editor of automotive news site the Detroit Bureau, said Mr. Toyoda took over Toyota when it was a struggling Japanese brand in the 1950s and, within three decades, brought in assembly-line techniques and quality-control standards that became the industry pacesetter.
Mr. Toyoda reinforced a devotion to detail that remains ingrained in Toyota corporate culture. A study by Harvard Business Review noted that Mr. Toyoda’s rules included turning off the company lights at lunchtime to save money and designing offices to take every inch into account for maximum use and cost benefit.
As Toyota’s plants expanded outside Japan, Mr. Toyoda rigidly enforced company’s “just-in-time” inventory philosophy that had factories able to shift production models quickly to respond to shifting consumer demands.
{snip}
By Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy joined The Washington Post after more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. Murphy has reported from more than 50 countries and has written four books. Twitter https://twitter.com/BrianFMurphy
By Brian Murphy
February 14, 2023 at 8:18 p.m. EST
Shoichiro Toyoda, the second-generation leader of Japanese auto giant Toyota, who oversaw a major U.S. expansion in the 1980s with manufacturing plants and ambitious goals as Detroit’s carmakers struggled with the punishing realities of global competition, died Feb. 14 at 97. ... Toyota confirmed the death but did not provide further details.
Paul A. Eisenstein, editor of automotive news site the Detroit Bureau, said Mr. Toyoda took over Toyota when it was a struggling Japanese brand in the 1950s and, within three decades, brought in assembly-line techniques and quality-control standards that became the industry pacesetter.
Mr. Toyoda reinforced a devotion to detail that remains ingrained in Toyota corporate culture. A study by Harvard Business Review noted that Mr. Toyoda’s rules included turning off the company lights at lunchtime to save money and designing offices to take every inch into account for maximum use and cost benefit.
As Toyota’s plants expanded outside Japan, Mr. Toyoda rigidly enforced company’s “just-in-time” inventory philosophy that had factories able to shift production models quickly to respond to shifting consumer demands.
{snip}
By Brian Murphy
Brian Murphy joined The Washington Post after more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent and bureau chief for the Associated Press in Europe and the Middle East. Murphy has reported from more than 50 countries and has written four books. Twitter https://twitter.com/BrianFMurphy