Another big reason behind Toyota's success is its mastery of lean manufacturing and continuous improve ment. Its plants can make as many as eight models at the same time, bringing huge increases in productivity and market responsiveness. The company also relent lessly innovates; a typical Toyota assembly line makes thousands of operational changes in a year. Employees see their purpose as threefold: making cars, making cars better, and teaching everyone how to make cars better. The company encourages problem solving, always look ing to improve the process by which it improves all other processes.
Toyota has integrated its assembly plants around the world into a single giant network that can custom ize cars for local markets and shift production quickly to meet surges in demand from markets worldwide. The company is thus able to fill market niches inexpensively as they emerge, without building whole new assembly operations. "If there's a market or market segment where they aren't present, they go there," said Tatsuo Yoshida, auto analyst at Deutsche Securities Ltd.
Over the years, Toyota automobiles have consistently ranked high in quality and reliability. In 2009 and 2010, however, the company recalled more than 8 million cars for potential perceived problems ranging from sticking accelerator pedals to sudden acceleration to software glitches in the braking system. The Lexus, Prius. Camry, Corolla, and Tundra brands were all affected. Next, Toyota lost billions of dollars when an earthquake and tsunami in Japan destroyed the company's plants and parts suppliers in 2011 .TMC President Akio Toyoda said, "We have faced many challenges since 2009, but have learned valuable lessons including the need for Toyota to maintain sustainable growth."
Despite these challenges, Toyota recouped its losses. Its strong focus on hybrid vehicles has proved profitable and helped the company rebound. It sold its 4 millionth unit in 2012 and plans to continue to innovate hybrids. believing "there are many more gains we can achieve with hybrids." Today, Toyota offers a full line of cars for