Toyota Motor Corporation and Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. announced on April 8, 2024, that they will review the structure of their overseas businesses, effective May 1, 2024, as Daihatsu aims to be reborn as a “mobility company centered on light vehicles.”
Summary of changes
- Toyota brand business and product planning functions will be transferred to Toyota’s business and sales business unit.
- Other outsourcing-related aspects, such as resource management and optimization, will also be reported to Toyota, strengthening collaboration with Toyota.
The product planning function was transferred from the “Emerging Market Compact Car Company” that straddled Toyota and Daihatsu to Toyota’s “Toyota Compact Car Company.” By outsourcing the work from Toyota Compact Car Company to Daihatsu, Toyota has taken responsibility for everything from development to certification.
Future direction
- Daihatsu will hone its strength in producing “high-quality, affordable” cars, providing freedom of mobility to customers across the country.
- We will expand the appeal and possibilities of kei cars, which can be considered the people’s car, and take on the challenge of developing BEV kei cars.
- We offer compact cars essential for the daily lives of customers in emerging countries at affordable prices.
- We will deepen our collaboration with Toyota to achieve carbon neutrality in the fields of electrification and intelligent vehicles, and contribute to the development of the automotive industry and economy.
Initiatives to prevent recurrence
Initiatives to restore trust
We will steadily implement measures to prevent recurrence based on the “Three Pledges” submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism on February 9th, and strive to restore trust.
1. Management Reform
- Eliminate functional and vertical divisions and restructure the organization to emphasize horizontal collaboration and communication
- The positions of general manager and deputy general manager were abolished, and the organization was streamlined from five levels to three levels.
- Appointing young project leaders with clearly defined roles and missions
2. Reform of manufacturing and creating things
- Set a development schedule that suits your needs
- Establishing an “andon” system for on-site workers to report abnormalities
- If delays occur, stop and pool resources and reassess the schedule.
3. Cultural reform
- Activate inter-departmental rotation and assign management personnel who emphasize “human skills”
- Eliminate formal written reports from staff to management
- Proactive use of digital tools to carry out work efficiently
- The best mix of top-down and bottom-up in one voice
- We are promoting organizational and personnel development with the mottos of “Working with peace of mind,” “Working by role,” and “On-site approach.”
4. Clarification of management responsibilities
- We take seriously the responsibility for the authentication fraud issue, which lies with management.
- Establish measures to prevent recurrence and get to the starting line to prevent recurrence
- Former management team to return bonuses for fiscal year 2023
summary
- The overseas business structures of both companies will be reviewed as of May 1st.
- The Emerging Markets Compact Car Company (ECC), which has served as a bridge between Toyota and Daihatsu, will be dissolved.
- Starting in May, the reporting line for “Development to Certification Functions” will change to Toyota’s “Toyota Compact Car Company.”
- The system will also be changed so that Toyota will be responsible for resource management and optimization related to business and product planning.
- Toyota will be responsible for everything from development to certification of compact cars, with Daihatsu taking over as contractor.
- Daihatsu focuses on minicars
Daihatsu aims to create cars that enrich the lives of its customers, and will focus on minicars and emerging markets. In addition, by changing its compact car development structure, the company will work to improve development efficiency and implement thorough measures to prevent recurrence.
Daihatsu news release
https://www.daihatsu.com/jp/news/2024/20240408-3.html
Toyota News Release
