The growth of the automobile industry is at an all-time high, with Toyota at the forefront. Toyota’s unmatched success did not start in this decade or the last decade. There are several automobile brands in this game today, but Toyota continues to be the choicest choice of the people because it effortlessly combines reliability and luxury.
The critical component of any successful business or brand is consistency, and Toyota understands the game. That is why you can buy a Toyota Camry now and expect it to perform better than the Toyota variants produced back in the day. We cannot say the same for its competitors.
The general belief is that a vehicle is expected to lose at least 5 to 10 percent of its value immediately after it leaves the showroom. However, Toyota begs to differ as it claims that it retains 68% of its value even after five years on the road. Drivers and owners of Toyota can attest to Toyota’s claim that it is indeed true.
With Toyota, as long as you can periodically maintain and service your car, depreciation will hardly take a toll on its value. These intriguing facts about Toyota beg the question, how does Toyota maintain its reliability? There are three essential secrets behind Toyota’s exceptional reliability, and they are discussed below.
Secret One: Jidoka
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automobile brand, so it is expected that its secrets are in Japanese. Jidoka is a Japanese term that means “automation with a human touch.” It is an engineering method that automates every process in Toyota, including its designs and components. The engineers involved in building Toyota built each car part to suit a standard designed by the company. Then slowly and critically, machines automatically assemble these parts until there is no work for the engineers in the process. The process is slow in its entirety, but the final product is totally worth it. After these processes, the car is added to the production line. This also means that the engineers involved in its production are conversant with each car part.
This is not the case for Toyota’s competitors, who automate every part of the production to expedite the process. If you have been paying attention, you must have noticed that Toyota releases new options sporadically as opposed to other brands that use speedy automated methods.
It is also why Toyota repeats most of its parts in different models. For example, Toyota Fortuner and Innova Crysta use the same engine and gearbox. It is improbable for Toyota cars to get recalled because professionals thoroughly test each part before assembling. Because of Toyota’s success with Jidoka, other brands are adopting the process.
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Secret Two: Kaizen
Kaizen is another Japanese term used by Toyota to achieve its reliability. Kaizen is more of Japanese philosophy than it is an engineering term. It means change for the better, and you can see it is effective in Toyota’s operations.
Kaizen leaves room for creativity from engineers at Toyota. The idea behind using Kaizen by Toyota is to promote change, productivity, and growth. Since the beginning of time, it has always been a good idea to switch up or change things, especially when it will help improve everything.
Hence, Toyota engineers working at any production level can halt the process if they get an idea that would make the car better. Employees are also allowed to halt the manufacturing process if they detect a problem that might tamper with the brand’s quality.
After detecting problems or mapping out improvements, the team must stop, evaluate the issue, and effect necessary changes before production can begin again. If the proffered solutions and ideas are not accepted, the team can also resume production after a consensus agreement. This ensures that products are perfect before leaving the showroom. If the ideas are ignored and it leads to factory fault, the team in charge might be penalized.
Kaizen is a practical principle, it might be pretty slow, but it is a sure way to maintain reliability. Other brands like BMW, Subaru, and ford have adopted the principle. Remember, change is always better! Always leave room for change, no matter how last minute.
Secret Three: Function over form
The parts and equipment used in creating vehicles are vital in ensuring that the car is reliable and high-performance. Toyota does not use defective parts in its production because it knows they will not last.
All Toyota models are created with care and attention, and it might seem like over-engineering, but it works. Most car brands have engines that rev high, but Toyota doesn’t. Toyota’s engine never revs because high revs can reduce its lifespan.
With Toyota’s low revs, the engines will last for a long time and save owners of the car brand money for repairs and frequent maintenance. Toyotas can hardly operate at very high speed, contributing to their longevity. Most often than not, the engines in Toyota cars outlast the car itself, and that is because Toyota engineers made them robust.
Toyota has never been bothered about its numbers and automobile sales statistics. All it cares about is creating the best driving experience for the driver through its reliable vehicles.
Conclusion
Whenever automobile reliability is being discussed, it doesn’t take time before Toyota is mentioned. Toyotas might not be the most expensive but luxurious brands, but they are durable. Hardly will you ever see a Toyota car model being recalled because of factory faults. Toyota is a very sellable second-hand car because they are reliable.
Toyota’s secrets to reliability have been listed and discussed above. The three secrets are Jidoka, Kaizen, and Function over form. As Toyota has done, achieving brand reliability will become easy when these secrets are effectively interwoven.
Jidoka teaches you about automation with a human touch; human hands are the best for creating automobile parts. Kaizen is a principle that teaches the importance of change and how effecting shift no matter how late is vital for perfection. At the same time, function over form teaches the importance of trusting the process. Exploit these secrets and watch your business or brand take a turn for the better.
