International Market Analysis: A Case Study of Toyota

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Toyota's international market operations. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction that gives an overview of the company. The core of the report critically analyzes Toyota's operational and strategic considerations in the international business environment, including its competitive landscape. The report also examines Toyota's ethics and corporate governance, providing an organizational diagram. A SWOT analysis identifies the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The conclusion and recommendations highlight key findings and suggest areas for future focus, such as expanding into developing nations and promoting electric vehicles. The report is supported by references to relevant sources.

2020
International Market Analysis
A Case study of toyota
student details

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 1
Executive Summary
The global automobile industry is highly competitive and requires that the manufacturers
offer the customers with innovative and quality products. Toyota, a Japanese car
manufacturing organisation is focused on providing its customers with quality products and
has established a set of rules that guides and controls ethical business practices within the
organisation. Toyota is required to focus on implementing the innovative technologies that
would meet the requirements of the customers and also comply with the changing
government to contribute towards changing environment.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Operational and Strategic Consideration of Toyota in International Market.............................3
Toyota’s Competitive Environment...........................................................................................4
Ethics and corporate governance of Toyota...............................................................................5
Toyota SWOT Analysis.............................................................................................................6
Conclusion and Recommendation..............................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 3
Introduction
Toyota is a Japanese automobile manufacturing company operating its business worldwide.
Toyota employees around 370,870 employees around the globe, and in December 2019 it was
considered as the 10th largest company in the world in terms of revenue (Toyota Motor
Corporation, 2019). Toyota is recognised as the world first company to mass-produce Hybrid
vehicles. The organisation’s corporate structure and the code of ethics is the key advantage of
the organisation that has resulted in the growth and development of the organisation. the
report is focused on analysing Toyota’s strategies, corporate governance, code of ethics being
followed and the major strengths and weakness in the context of its international operations.
Operational and Strategic Consideration of Toyota in
International Market
Toyota operates in an international business environment, which is exposed to various
competitive and risk factors, therefore it is required that the organisation focus on its
operational and strategic decisions within the organisation so that it can compete within the
industry. Toyota has a mission to attract and attain the customers by providing them with
high-value products and services and to be the most successful as well as respected car
manufacturing company. To improve its operational effectiveness in the international market,
Toyota focuses on product differentiation, and utilisation of advanced and superior
technologies in the production of the cars (Nkomo, 2013).
Toyota has identified that the production facility of the organisation is required to be
optimised so that it can achieve global success. Therefore, Toyota set up its corporate strategy
that guides the activities as well as the workforce of the organisation. Toyota management
developed a culture that was focused on both the operational level as well as the strategic

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 4
level of the organisation and included the employee engagement as a key factor in managing
the organisation, which resulted in increased productivity, satisfied workforce and quality and
competitive products.
Toyota’s Competitive Environment
Toyota operates in a highly competitive environment, as in the automobile industry the
customer's preference for a car model depends upon their disposable income, innovative
technologies and the price for the product. The market competitiveness of an organisation can
be identified through a strategic model defined by Michael Porter. The strategy emphasizes
the three generic strategies including cost leadership, product differentiation and the segment
focus. Toyota has achieved the cost leadership by the implementation of TPS (Toyota
Production System), which is focused on eliminating the unnecessary costs and improving
the efficiency of the production process.
Toyota’s production innovativeness and wide categorisation have led to the achievement of
product differentiation within the industry. The organisation focusses on providing its
customers with quality and innovative products, therefore, it has invested in R&D activities
and ensure that the products are being offered as per the customer's requirements and
preference within the industry (Jacob Toyota, 2013). Toyota is focused on cost optimization
within the production process and to be a successful car manufacturer. Therefore, it ensures
that the company offers products for the different market segments, as the company deals in
luxury cars, sedans, SUVs, and other product lines depending upon the industry requirements
(Toyota Global, 2012).

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 5
Ethics and corporate governance of Toyota
Ethics are the standards or the principles that guide the activities within the business
organisation and ensure that the organisation is working ethically and responsibly within the
industry. Toyota follows a set code of conduct to ensure that the activities within the
organisation are ethical and are accepted by society. The code of conduct of Toyota includes
promoting respect and cooperation among the employees, focusing on the employee
development and diversity among the workforce within the organisation, and conducting
activities that would result in the development of the society in which the organisation is
operating its business.
Toyota focuses on the sustainable growth of the organisation and effective implementation of
the corporate value and management principle among the organisation so that the goals and
objectives of the organisation can be achieved and retained. The corporate governance of
Toyota follows the rules and principles of the Corporate Governance Code and explains the
duties of its board of directors and employees within the organisation so that the activities can
be conducted accordingly and the organisational effectiveness can be achieved (Toyota,
2020).

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 6
Figure 1Corporate Governance Organizational Diagram (as of June 21st, 2019) Source: (Toyota, 2020)
Toyota SWOT Analysis
Toyota is among the world’s innovative automobile manufacturer and operates in nearly
around 200 international markets. The organisation’s position and capabilities within the
industry can be identified through conducting a SWOT analysis, through which the
organisation can identify its internal strengths and weakness and can analyse the
opportunities and threats within the industry. Toyota’s innovative culture has always been a
strength for the organisation, as Toyota is recognised as a first company to mass-produce
hybrid vehicles, also the organisation is focused towards quality products at an affordable
price which attracts the customer within the industry (Büschgens, et al., 2013).
Toyota is efficient in manufacturing of cost- and fuel-efficient cars, but the recent product
recalls is a weakness for the organisation, as due to certain errors within the cars Toyota has
to recall cars in 2011, 2012 and even in 2018 Toyota recalls 2.4 million of hybrid cars due to

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 7
technical fault in the cars (Reuters, 2018). As Toyota is a globally recognized brand,
therefore such recalls affect the brand image of the organisation. Toyota has the market
opportunities to expand in the developing countries along with the expanding automobile
industry. With the changing industry requirements, Toyota is required to focus on the
production of electric vehicles and contribute towards sustainable development. The intense
market competition is the major threat for Toyota, as a new innovative product from the
competitor can affect the market share of the Toyota, also the emission standards
implemented by the governments can be a challenge for the car manufacturing organisations,
as they have to match with the set standards to remain within the industry (McKinsey &
Company, 2020).
Conclusion and Recommendation
Toyota has established a strong market position within the industry in terms of an innovative
automobile manufacturer. The organisation’s corporate governance and set code of ethics
promotes ethical practices within the organisation and ensures that the activities conducted
within the organisation result in the development of the stakeholders along with the
organisational growth. Toyota is required to focus on expanding its business operations
within the developing nations and promote the use of electric cars so that it can contribute
towards environment protection. Toyota is also required to implement changes within its
organisational structure to improve flexibility within its work process.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET ANALYSIS: TOYOTA 8
References
Büschgens, T., Bausch, A. & Balkin, D. B., 2013. Organizational Culture and Innovation: A
Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 30(4), pp. 763-781.
Jacob Toyota, 2013. Toyota Invests $1 Million an Hour on R&D. [Online]
Available at: https://www.jacobtoyota.com.au/news/toyota-invests-1-million-an-hour-on-r-d/
[Accessed 08 February 2020].
McKinsey & Company, 2020. The road to 2020 and beyond: What’s driving the global
automotive industry?, s.l.: McKinsey & Company.
Nkomo, T., 2013. Analysis of Toyota Motor Corporation. [Online]
Available at: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/tnkomo/files/analysis_of_toyota.pdf
[Accessed 08 February 2020].
Reuters, 2018. Toyota to recall 2.4 million hybrid vehicles over stalling issue. [Online]
Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/toyota-to-
recall-2-4-million-hybrid-vehicles-over-stalling-issue/articleshow/66081588.cms?from=mdr
[Accessed 08 February 2020].
Toyota Global, 2012. Product Lineup. [Online]
Available at: http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/data/
conditions/product_lineup/vehicles.html
[Accessed 08 February 2020].
Toyota Motor Corporation, 2019. Financial Summary FY2019. [Online]
Available at:
https://global.toyota/pages/global_toyota/ir/financial-results/2019_4q_summary_en.pdf
[Accessed 08 February 2020].

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Toyota, 2020. Corporate Governance. [Online]
Available at: https://global.toyota/en/sustainability/esg/governance/
[Accessed 08 February 2020].