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 For decades, the Japanese automaker carved out global leadership by
using common parts across many of its models. This was efficient,
but made for uniform styling. A one-size-fits-all layout for the
engine's surrounding parts, for example, gave its cars a boxy front
end.
Under its ongoing Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) initiative,
the automaker will standardize vehicle engineering, such as the
optimal 'hip point' seating position for different vehicles, from
sedans and sports cars to SUVs and trucks. This cuts the number of
air-bag variations needed and allows air-bag modules to be installed
from just one side of the assembly line rather than both, making
plants more efficient.
Redesigning cars from the ground up, Toyota plans to lower the hood,
or bonnet, and center of gravity for better styling and handling.
The new vehicle platforms, to feature more fuel efficient engines
and rigid, lightweight frames, will be rolled out in stages starting
with a medium-sized car this year, widely expected to be the
fourth-generation Prius hybrid.
The savings from this overhaul - to be at least a fifth of Toyota's
development costs - would be used to add or tailor other high-tech
features, such as auto-braking, to suit different markets.
This approach is not new. Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE>, Toyota's rival for
the title of the world's biggest automaker, has already rolled out
its Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) in more than a fifth of its
vehicles.
In a progress report on Thursday, Executive Vice President Mitsuhisa
Kato, the architect of the TNGA outline, said Toyota expects about
half of its vehicles in 2020 to feature TNGA platforms.
TNGA reflects the changing nature of the global auto industry. As
rivals close the gap on quality and fuel economy, styling and
cutting-edge features have become the key battleground. More car for
the same price.
"TNGA is not just a more cost-effective way of designing the
automobile" to play catch-up with Volkswagen and others, said a
senior Toyota executive, who didn't want to be named because he is
not authorized to speak to reporters. "It changes fundamentally the
way we design and procure technologies and manufacture final
finished products using those technologies."
MODULAR DESIGN
Since taking the helm in 2009, Akio Toyoda has sought to steer the
company founded by his grandfather back to making more appealing
cars instead of what he called reliable but unexciting products that
fueled Toyota's rise in the last century.
"Other automakers would design parts to accommodate exterior
styling," said Satoshi Hino, a former Mazda Motor engineer and
consultant specializing in modular architecture. "Having fewer parts
was important in the 20th century because it helped secure quality.
But in the 21st century, you have to make unique, attractive cars
while still trying to limit new parts. Modular design allows that,
and it's what TNGA is after."
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With modular design, pioneered by Volkswagen's Swedish truck unit
Scania <SVKBF.PK> decades ago, standardized units, such as a cockpit
module, can be used across several models and be built flexibly into
subtle variations to suit different markets. That allows for a
simpler, slimmer manufacturing process - and factory savings.
With TNGA, Toyota aims to halve the investment required to retool
factories for new models compared with pre-financial crisis levels
in 2008, while slashing investment on new factories by about 40
percent, the company said on Thursday.
SUPPLIER SHAKE-UP
TNGA will also bring profound changes for Toyota's group suppliers.
Traditionally, Toyota's suppliers were forced to design parts to
meet specifications that were optimal for individual car models -
even where other automakers employed globally compatible standards.
TNGA will change that, with Toyota using global standards for
certain parts - a move that would weed out weaker suppliers while
landing more business for others.
Kato said this would allow Toyota's group suppliers to sell the
parts to other automakers, boosting their competitiveness and
benefiting Toyota.
To that end, Toyota said in November it would consolidate the
development and production of diesel engines, manual transmissions
and brakes at three group suppliers, helping top-tier firms such as
Denso and Aisin Seiki focus on cutting-edge technologies and
compete with global rivals such as Bosch and Continental.
For the first time, Toyota will also add an official from both Denso
and Aisin Seiki to its executive line-up next month.
Ultimately, the test for TNGA will be whether the new generation of
Toyota cars appeals to buyers.
"Competition will be even fiercer as demand in developed markets
saturates and consumers become more selective in developing
countries," said Satomi Hamada, senior analyst at consultancy IHS
Automotive.
"Toyota needs to boost its product appeal, and quickly, to avoid
losing market share."
(Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu and Kevin Krolicki;
Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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