Toyota: in a 'spiral of decline'?

Japan's Toyota, the world's biggest car manufacturer, has apologised for having to recall a total of almost 4.5 million vehicles in North America and Europe. The cars' accelerator pedals jam so they speed up uncontrollably.

Last week the company called a temporary halt to production and sales of many popular models that jointly accounted for almost 60% of the group's US sales last year. As a result, the group's American sales slid by 16% in January as rivals' rose.

What the commentators said

Toyota has handled this episode with "breathtaking incompetence", said David Wighton in The Times. It took days for the group to send an executive to respond to press questions, and company president Akio Toyoda only apologised at Davos when pressed by reporters.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Clearly, Toyota's PR operation "is not functioning" properly, said Koji Endo of Advanced Research JapanYet until recently, "they had a culture of responding swiftly to problems".

This episode has taken a "blowtorch" to the group's overall reputation, said Bloggingstocks.com. When it came to reliability, Toyota was once "king". The problem is fast growth over the past few years, said The Economist.

The "dash" to become the world's top car-maker has taken its toll: last year there was a large recall and 2006 saw another bout. Moreover, its rivals are getting their act together and designing increasingly "desirable" cars. Even Toyota's lead in electric vehicles is now in doubt. Toyota appears to be stuck in "a spiral of decline".

7203: 3,400; 12m change 18%