Toyota has not been approached by Fiat Chrysler yet for a merger.
Bloomberg recently reported that the Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Motor Corp.’s North American Unit, Mr. Jim Lentz mentioned to reporters recently that the automotive manufacturer was not ready to associate itself with other automakers and has also not been approached by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles seeking a merger.The CEO was addressing reporters during a round table conference before the inauguration of their Toyota Technical Center that is situated near Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Lentz mentioned in a statement, “It’s something we would not be interested in At 10 million (vehicles), we have enough scale right now to do what we need to do. There really would be no advantage for us.”Mr. Lentz mentioned examples like the Ford Motor Company which faced bankruptcy since it started to offload extra brands like Aston Martin, Volvo, jaguar and Land Rover. Thus, they started to retain their focus on a relatively smaller manageable portfolio.He further added that to him a relatively large Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). He now believes that it is relatively difficult for them to take on Chrysler considering that was initially very successful for Ford. He further added, “FCA has a very strong Jeep brand, and especially today with fuel prices, it’s a great brand to have … but it really isn’t a fit for what we need at Toyota.”Apart from this, Ford has also acknowledged that it now does not wish to pursue any merger. The company mentioned this during an investor event the previous week. Bob Shanks, the chief finance officer has admitted that there is a requirement for automakers to consolidate through technology and supplier alliances through other companies in this business. However, “we’re not a suitor for FCA.”Mr. Shanks also claimed that when Mr. Marchionne did not really approach Ford directly. However alliances on a small scale with companies like Fiat Chrysler along with another automaker “would make sense.”According to a senior analyst, at Kelley Blue Book, Mr. Karl Brauer has that opinion that Mr. Marchionne is likely to find a partner sooner or later it will become the industry giant. “Honestly, I think most other large automakers feel they have enough challenges to manage. Poor Sergio, always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” he said.
Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have joined hands to come up with an in-vehicle software that will help them in competing with Apple Inc. and Google Inc.
Many automakers are not ready to give up the control to Silicon Valley companies that are gearing up to control the dashboards. So now Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. have joined hands to come up with an in-vehicle software that will help them in competing with Apple Inc. and Google Inc.According to recent moves by Toyota, the company has announced that they have started to explore the usage of SmartDeviceLink. This is the open source version of the AppLink software by Ford that will be seen by Lexus and other Toyota cars.SmartDeviceLink, or generally known as SDL, acts like an interface allowing smartphone integration into the dashboard of the vehicle similar to Android Auto by Google and CarPlay by Apple. Around two years back, Ford had announced that it will open source this platform with a vision that other automakers will join them and assist them in creating an alternative to what the tech behemoths are offering. The aim of this collaboration is to curb the presence of Sillicon Valley firms in the vehicle software domain.According to a senior analyst at IHS, Mr. Mark Boyadjis stated, “Toyota adopting it is very significant because it validates the approach that Ford took, and it could help Ford and Toyota maintain control over the app ecosystem and the experience.” He further added, that the collaboration of big companies like Ford and Toyota Motors to work on an SDL like open source platform will be an attractive offer to app developers who will now be interest to work on the platform. Moreover, this will also help them in keeping Google and Apple out of the scenario.This is not it, but other automakers are also coming with similar initiatives to attract customers. According to the chief executive officer of General Motors, Ms. Mary Barra understands the importance of smartphones amongst the masses. Collaboration between Google and Apple to come up with Android Auto and CarPlay that will be compatible with a wide array of vehicles is a perfect example of how firms like Chervolet have a firm hold in democratizing the technology that is relatively important for consumers.The initiative that Ford Motors and Toyota has taken is extremely ambitious and will actually give a tough time to Apple and Google. However, the company will also be required to come up with something top notch for the dashboards so that consumer do not look for alternatives and stick to these automakers.
The Japanese automaker has decided to call back around 5 million cars to fix the issue of having faulty air bags.
Toyota Motors has reported it will be recalling cars from all over the world to fix the problem of having air bags that are not up to the mark and have faults. Along with it, Nissan Motors and Honda Motors will also be following suit.According to a news report by Bloomberg, it was seen that around 6 million cars in total are being requested by the respective companies for the purposes of solving issues in them that have long been prevailing. The major reason for the Japanese firm to be recalling its cars from all over the globe is the emerging problem of faulty airbags that have suddenly surfaced.As per available records, Toyota (TM) Company has decided to call back around 5 million cars which include various models produced and manufactured by the firm. Among all the cars being called back to the firm, 35 models are the ones that were released by the Japanese firm between the time period of March 2003 and November 2007. The company has released a report in which it has raised concerns over the unusual activity of the airbags that has been seen to deploy at random moments, many times when it was not even needed. This going off of the air bag on the precise moment when the vehicle was hit by another car was taken into consideration by the auto making firm to realize that something was definitely seen to be wrong with them.According to recent Toyota news, it became evident that the firm will be calling back its cars in the start of June 2015 by first informing the customers. The total Japanese cars to be recalled by the firm have come around at 1.56 million, as reported by a spokesperson of the Japan-based company. This step that is being taken by the auto giants is due to the safety campaign that has gained momentum recently. As a result of this campaign, around ten other auto making companies in the industry have been calling back cars to fix the issue since 2008.According to a Japanese analyst Takeshi Miyao, it has been noted that this problem has suddenly surfaced and is now being looked into by Toyota and Nissan as before both the companies were unaware of such a problem taking place in the air bags that they were placing in their cars. Takata Corp, who is responsible for providing the automakers these airbags have also been not aware of the fault in the bags they were providing.
