Japanese conglomerate Toyota is the most popular car brand in the world, so much so they coined a phrase ‘The car in front of you is always a Toyota’. From its humble beginnings in the late 30s, Toyota has grown by leaps and bounds, eclipsing the big brands like Ford who revolutionized the mass production of vehicles with the model T.
Toyota’s strategy was simple, build a reliable vehicle that could last a lifetime and use innovative methods to build Toyota cars at a cost-effective rate.
The Corolla was and still is Toyota’s breakthrough product, earning its stripes as the world’s best-selling model and subsequently shot to the top as the world’s largest car maker. What makes fanatics crazy about Toyota in Kenya?
Reliability
Toyota has mastered the art of building reliable engines that hardly break down, sturdy chassis and suspension system. The reason to this is they choose simplicity as complex engine systems break down frequently and expertise on fixing them is limited e.g. European brands are prone to breakdowns.
Fuel Efficiency
The key aspect when designing a vehicle. An efficient engine consumes less fuel, a light chassis doesn’t add extra load to the engine thus vehicle doesn’t wear and tear at a faster rate. Fuel efficiency also is brought about by introducing cutting-edge technologies like electronic fuel injection, direct injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing to every generation they churn. This impacts positively on buyers who value a vehicle that consumes fuel sparingly.
Resale Value
Owners always have a return on investment as the vehicles still fetch good prices after considerable use due to the fact that they don’t break down and are durable enough over long periods of times.
Easy to maintain. Toyota engines are simple in design and maintenance. Many mechanics are able to cope with the rapid changes in engine technologies as Toyota endeavours to maintain similar design philosophies to enhance the principle of ‘commonality’. That way basic engine design remains the same and technicians learn on new upgrades periodically.
Availability of spare parts
Since Toyota is a popular brand, I must commend the supply chain logistics, as they ensure key parts are available across the world. Toyota also has licensed replacement part manufacturers like Denso, NGK, Kayaba to distribute certain replacement parts that are grade 1 quality and cheaper than the genuine Toyota OEM parts, to areas where Toyota parts are scarce. This way parts become readily available and are affordable. Rival brands envy Toyota due to this strategy.
