The Right Move? Toyota Banking On Prius To Bring It Back From The Brink

Two weeks after Japan’s March 11 earthquake knocked out more than 650 of Toyota Motor Corp. (7203)’s suppliers, halting worldwide production, the automaker had to decide where to focus its resources. It picked the Prius.

“We were rapidly burning through cash,” said Atsushi Niimi, head of production, in an interview. “We decided we had to get things going bit by bit to survive through this, so we prioritized the cars our customers wanted most.”

The carmaker started calling suppliers across the country to find parts for the Prius and luxury-brand Lexus hybrids. By March 28, Toyota’s Tsutsumi and Kyushu factories were producing the models again at 30 to 40 percent of capacity, Niimi said.



Frankfurt Motor Show Gallery

Full Leaked Frankfurt Motor Show Guide Photo Gallery

Jaguar C-X16 Concept Photo Gallery

Frankfurt Motor Show Preview Photo Gallery

2012 BMW 6-Series Coupe M-Sport and Z4 2.8i Photo Gallery

Aston Martin Zagato V12 Photo Gallery

2012 Jeep Wrangler PentaStar Photo Gallery

2012 Toyota Camry Photo Gallery




Read Article

mpls - 9/13/2011 2:53:54 PM

+1 Boost

that was March, now it's September.. is Toyota out of business ?

800over - 9/14/2011 11:21:10 AM

+1 Boost

Did you read the article?....wait stupid question on my part.

MorePower - 9/14/2011 2:56:07 AM

+1 Boost

Hey, it worked for GM and Chrysler when they went all in on large suv's right . . .

Hell, if gas hits $5+/gallon in the US, Toyota will sell a lot of hybrid models. GM might even sell a few Volts.

The real winner will be Nissan if they can increase the production and service areas of the Leaf.