Toyota 2010

In winter 2010, the Toyota Motor Corporation faced a crisis. Following a number of highly publicized accidents involving Toyota vehicles, the company was forced to recall millions of cars with potentially deadly defects. Toyota shut down production at several of its North American plants, halted sales of some of its most popular models, and issued a public apology. Customers fled the showrooms, and Toyota sales in the U.S. dropped 16 percent in January 2010. Additionally, the U.S. government promised to get involved as both the Obama administration and Congress threatened investigations. Observers were astonished. Toyota had built a reputation for the reliability of its automobiles. Over a period of decades, the company had pioneered lean manufacturing and a stringent quality control system that had become the envy of the world. Building on this success, in the late 1990s, Toyota’s leadership had set a goal of capturing a 15 percent share of the world auto market. From 2000 to 2005, T