Toyota Case

Case Study: TOYOTA: Driving the Mainstream Market to

Purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Rockford College Graduate School

Nichole Grayned

BSAD Marketing 560

November 29, 2011

Case Study: Toyota: Driving the Mainstream Market to Purchase Hybrid Electric Vehicles

“What is the role in society, the size, growth and evolution of the auto industry? How have the Japanese auto manufactures led (auto) category innovation? What is Toyota Motors market position in the United States for the hybrid vehicle category?

“The automobile industry has changed the way people live and work, and the way businesses operate.” (Ivey, p. 2) The automobile itself is ingrained as a permanent fixture in society, since the introduction of Henry Ford’s Model T. “One in six working Americans is engaged in the build, selling or maintenance of motor vehicles.”(Ivey, 2) The world has grown from 50 million vehicles on the road in 1950 to more than 496 Million in 1996, with expectation of more than 3 billion by the year 2050. The American economy depends on the success of the automobile industry. “One in six working Americans is engaged in the build, selling or maintenance of motor vehicles.”(Ivey, 2) Cars provide drivers with benefits of everything from image, transportation, mobility and convenience. The Japanese have capitalized on America’s dependency. By 2002, import market share in the United States had increased to just less than 40 percent from a little more than 5% in 1965. (Ivey, 3) The Japanese auto manufacturers shift focus to fuel-efficiency and simple, reliable transportation. As society and the environment began to change so did the industry. “Strong environmental legislation and the societal perception of environmental demands were accelerating manufacturers’ efforts to make their products environmentally cleaner and more fuel-efficient.” (Ivey, p. 4) In 2003, Japanese owned Toyota Motor Company was the first to take the lead in the product category of...