Wen | and Ling
President Akio Toyoda's 2022 speech to employees poked at my point.
Throughout the speech, there is no mention of any KPIs, no strange technical flow, but only "three guardians" and "three messages".
Of course, friends who are familiar with Toyota know that Akio Toyoda's words also refer to something. In the face of the doubt that "Toyota does not want to develop BEV", Toyota not only speaks with actions as "products", but also has something to say as the big boss Toyota Akio.
Regarding the "three guardians", the first is Toyota's "concept". What is Toyota's existence for? Not for selling more cars, nor for more profits, but for "mass production happiness".
Every Toyota person needs to have someone else in mind, to work for that person, and to seize happiness together. This "philosophy" that needs to be guarded and passed on is the "Toyota Philosophy".
Then there is the "way and method" to realize the "idea", that is, the "TPS (Toyota Production Method)". Finally, there is the "Code of Conduct" that grasps the first two points, namely the "TOYOTA Way".
To be honest, I can't fully appreciate the "Three Guardians" for people who are not Toyota. But one thing is clear that Toyota no longer likes to be called "the world's largest salesman" and "the most profitable car brand"... Instead, it is further practicing the concept of "not achieving popularization is playing hooligans", that is, "mass production happiness".
In fact, the most poking at me is still the "three messages", after reading the immediate envy of Toyota employees a hundred.
The first is to learn something new. New languages, paintings, music, sports, driving skills, etc., can be learned if you haven't tried them before.
The second is to take the initiative to connect with Toyota people around the world to learn how they are challenged for the same subject.
Having new friends, sharing each other's experiences, and helping each other can make us learn more and grow more.
The third is to enjoy time outside of work. Turn off your phone and computer, and everyone gets in action and does what they love to do.
Challenge the possibilities of all technologies
"The boss who never mentions the work is really a good boss!" After I first sighed in the circle of friends, a friend left a message saying, "Generally the boss does not mention performance, only talks about ideals, it is to do big things." "I have a bit of a different opinion, Akio Toyoda is not talking about ideals, it is people; but it is true that there are big things happening soon, and talent is the soul of change."
Prior to this, toyota has been in a state of little interest in the development of BEVs. Unexpectedly, in the last few days of December 2021, Akio Toyoda personally released a grand plan for electric vehicles: it is expected that by 2030, 30 BEV models will be introduced, providing a comprehensive lineup of products in various fields including passenger cars and commercial vehicles worldwide; by 2030, BEV's global annual sales plan will reach 3.5 million units.
The Lexus brand is at the forefront, expecting to achieve a full range of product lineups with BEV versions for all its models by 2030, and achieve 100% BEV model sales in China, North America and Europe, reaching the goal of 1 million units worldwide. By 2035, 100% of BEV models will be sold worldwide.
Seeing this, you may ask: Is Toyota under external pressure and intends to follow the pace of Volkswagen in full electrification? Non also. Everywhere Akio Toyoda goes, he emphasizes that the enemy of carbon neutrality is carbon dioxide, not the internal combustion engine, so there is more than one way to achieve carbon neutrality, and Toyota wants to "challenge the possibilities of all technologies."
Toyota is still Toyota, Toyota continues to maintain a full range of exploration, using hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pure electric vehicles, hydrogen energy vehicles go hand in hand. Therefore, Akio Toyoda will personally drive the Corolla Sport version of the hydrogen fuel engine off the track. In addition, as a global partner of the Olympic Games, Toyota Motor has provided more than 2,200 work vehicles to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. These include mirai II., Costa hydrogen engine and other hydrogen fuel vehicles.
Unlike Volkswagen, which developed electric vehicles, Toyota has not relaxed its love for performance cars at this moment. In addition to the hydrogen-fueled engine Corolla, there are GR models such as gry Yaris. Gr Yaris is Toyota's self-developed pure four-wheel drive sports car, which was developed backwards by the racing car Yaris WRC that won the FIA World Rally Championship, and is a favorite of Akio Toyoda.
Just after the 2021 season, Yaris WRC also helped TGR Team win the Manufacturer of the Year Championship and the Driver/Pilot of the Year Championship and Runner-up. It is said that the Yaris GR Sport model is expected to be introduced into the country in the form of imports within the year.
For the first time, the two giants' electric vehicles are on the same stage
If the above is a vision goal thrown by Toyota, then the most important thing at the moment is that the first pure electric vehicle bZ4X is about to be listed. Toyota bZ4X is built based on the e-TNGA architecture, positioning a medium-sized pure electric SUV, and will adopt a two-car strategic model in the future, which will be locally produced by FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota respectively.
Earlier, some media reported that Toyota's first pure electric vehicle model bZ4X overseas price was announced, the car will be listed in the UK in 2022, priced at 41950-51550 pounds (about 35.9-44.12 million yuan). What will be the pricing in China? This time we will not discuss it.
Or is it a direct soul torture, who will buy Toyota's electric car? We have mentioned this car many times before, and we will not repeat it here, the simple sentence is "First of all, it is a Toyota car." I discussed this with Toyota dealers, and they generally believed, "You can follow the idea of the Volkswagen ID. series." ”
In other words, the fans of the Toyota brand are estimated to be the main first users. This base is still very large, which is worth looking forward to. The latest data released by Volkswagen China shows that the ID. The sales volume of the series of electric vehicles in the Chinese market is 70,625 units, and the average monthly sales volume has exceeded 10,000 for several months, but it has still not reached the goal of selling 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles. Volkswagen mainly attributed the reason to the lack of core, in fact, it is not so simple.
Otherwise, why in the last few days of 2021, the Volkswagen Group announced a high-profile increase in investment in electric mobility and digitalization. Volkswagen GROUP CEO Dies said, "For the first time in history, we have spent more than half of our total expenditure, or 89 billion euros, on investing in future technologies." ”
A total of 89 billion euros, more than 50% of the total investment, will be mainly used for electric mobility and digitalization (of which 8 billion euros will be invested in hybrid technology). Of this, 52 billion euros are for electric mobility, an increase of more than 50% over the previous round of planning, and another 30 billion euros for the development of digitalization and autonomous driving, an increase of about 10% over the previous round of planning.
This is all to solve the problems of digitalization, car and machine straddling, which exist as much as Toyota, or the problem is more serious. In addition, in terms of sales channels, Volkswagen has chosen the innovative agency model + ID. Store (X) combines the model, but has been criticized. At present, it is understood that Toyota Electric Vehicles will continue to be sold through dual channels in more than 1,300 distribution stores of GAC Toyota and FAW Toyota.
Following the BBA electric vehicle on the same stage, 2022 will also be the first time that toyota and Volkswagen two giants of electric vehicles compete on the same stage. If Toyota and Volkswagen were a pair of fierce rivals before, then in the special period of electric vehicle transformation, we may have to "walk side by side" to meet the challenges of Tesla's new forces.
Tesla delivered a total of 936,000 new vehicles worldwide in 2021
Prior to this, many senior executives of new forces mentioned that with the luxury BBA and traditional car giants such as Volkswagen and Toyota in the field of electric vehicles, there is not much window period left for new forces. But there are also different voices that say that on the rivers and lakes, that point is old and new, who has the strength to go up.
Can "mass production happiness" ultimately protect Toyota's status?
2022 is just getting started, so let's wait and see.