Toyota is no exception to this rule, and under the leadership of a new president, their business plan seems to be changing. Akio Toyoda took the reigns of the company in June and is moving Toyota in a new direction. It is no secret that previous presidents expected Toyota to achieve 15 percent global marketshare.

Toyoda has different ideas when it comes to numbers. He is hoping to return Toyota to the old-fashioned “Toyota Way” of catering to customers. With Toyota fiercely chasing numbers, their products have lost touch with consumer needs. Toyoda’s plan aims to change that. Instead of focusing on the numbers, they will create products based on what consumers want and developing products around that.

Over the next few years, we should expect Toyota to be developing at a bit slower rate than normal but developing higher quality products that are more in touch with their new eco-conscious consumers. Todays drivers have a lot of demands regarding the purchase of their new car - high MPG, budget-friendly payments and reliability. There most likely will be an increase in production of highly efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles that follow in the footsteps of Toyota’s legendary Prius.

Toyoda spoke in Traverse City at the Management Briefing Seminars and said “the United States will serve as an engine for growth for automakers for years to come due to its population growth and the country’s love for cars.” (http://www.freep.com) While the outlook may look bright, there is still a lot of work to do.

Developers have plenty to work with however, when it comes to consumer needs and what those might be. There are newly emerging markets that Toyota hopes to pounce on and this new way of thinking might help them do just that. Focusing on China, South America and the Middle East could not only help them achieve the numbers they hope but develop products that will create a new loyal customer base. If they can achieve this, they could well be on their way to recovery.

Toyota posted their biggest loss in seventy years this past fiscal year and is not expected to pull out of the red before March 2010. With the appointment of Toyoda and his new business plan, the company should undergo a huge morale boost. Toyoda is the grandfather of the founder of Toyota and is expected to bring the company back to the top of the auto industry. While the road ahead of Toyota is rocky, it could prove to be a revolutionary time to rework and reintroduce a legendary brand of cars to the world.