摘要
在底特律三大汽车巨头刚刚破茧重生,仍处于竞争劣势的大背景下,丰田汽车召回事件融进了政治因素、民众情绪等复杂因素,而快速扩张过程中对传统的背离却是根本原因。
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) has recalled over 8 million vehicles around the globe,mostly due to problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals and unexpected acceleration,marking the largest global recall in the industrial history. According to American media,these problems have caused 34 deaths in US. Impacted by this,the world largest auto maker suffered a sales decline by 16%,an all-time low in its sales on the US market,and will have to face 44 class-action lawsuits with over USD3.6 billion claims. The recall was also amplified by political and national reasons as Toyota failed to provide a satisfactory explanation before the US society. It also went too far from its prior principle-quality,which has placed the Japan-based car company on the first place in the industry. On the way to pursue the goal in the past decade,it adopted fast expansion and cost cuts strategies. Acquisitions and introduction of professional managers from other US auto companies have changed its tradition and corporate culture. The cost cuts in auto parts,though having contributed large profits,caused deadly quality defects. But the Japan-based auto giant is not likely to be defeated by the scandal. Once it has weathered the storm,it will head to its new goals more steadily.
