Does Toyota sell too many different cars? Its new CEO thinks so
Toyota’s new CEO was previously its CFO, and he’s already signaled the car giant could reduce its global lineup to cut costs.
Toyota didn’t just become the world’s biggest carmaker by selling the most cars, but by offering arguably the widest range of cars to the global market.
At present, there are more than 90 Toyota models on sale worldwide, most of which share parts with numerous other vehicles, though that sheer number of cars on sale can’t be sustainable.
According to new Toyota CEO Kenta Kon – who has just been promoted from the role of chief financial officer – reducing the depth of cars offered by the brand is an obvious way to cut costs, something it is conscious of in the extremely competitive global market.
“If you go to a development division, you see issues such as an increasing number of different specifications and variants being created, which in turn is driving up costs,” Kon said, as reported by Automotive News.
“If there are areas within those activities that aren’t truly value-adding work, or where work isn’t being done efficiently, then we need to take a closer look at them.”
In Australia alone, there are almost 20 Toyota vehicles on sale locally: the bZ4X, bZ4X Touring (soon to arrive), Camry, C-HR, Coaster, Corolla, Corolla Cross, GR86, HiAce, HiLux, Kluger, Landcruiser 70 Series, Landcruiser 300 Series, LandCruiser Prado, Mirai, RAV4, Tundra, Yaris, Yaris Cross.
That is of course without including variants, which in the case of the HiLux offers more than a dozen different grades to local buyers.
Kon’s budget-conscious approach to Toyota’s future comes amid a circa-20 per cent decrease in operating profit forecast for this year, partly due to tariffs from the US, as well as an expected drop in sales due to increasing competition from China.
Jordan Mulach
However, Toyota is in a stronger position than most to be able to stay on top, having last year taken its sixth consecutive crown as the top-selling vehicle brand worldwide.
In 2025, the carmaker – which includes Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino – set a new record of 11,322,575 vehicle deliveries, beating its own record and increasing on its 2024 figure by almost five per cent.
Toyota remains the only car manufacturer to surpass 10 million deliveries in a year.
Australia contributed 239,863 deliveries to Toyota’s total, coming up just short of beating its own record but still managing its 23rd consecutive year as the local sales leader.
