The big three car makers of Japan have all been extremely successful across the globe, but none have been immune to the economic downturn which began last autumn. Toyota, Honda and Nissan have all been hit hard with falling consumer spending, where a new car may seem something of a luxury in the current economic situation. Although all of these manufacturers have strong factory presences in Japan itself, they also have plants across the globe. For example, Britain's top three car producers are indeed Nissan, Toyota and Honda (in that order).
Despite its relatively small size, Japan is still the world's largest car producer at 11.6 million units, closely followed by the USA and significantly ahead of China (third), a country with 10 times the population. Japan's car industry is critical to the health of its economy, so how well Toyota, Honda and Nissan deal with the global downturn in consumer demand is of great importance.
Toyota is the world's number one car maker with a turnover of $ 17.15 billion dollars in 2008, employing 316,000 people worldwide. Its interests include robotic, financial services and biotechnology, as well as automotive – its core area. Its success is greatly due to its famous production system, with key ideas such as 'genchi genbutsu', which means when a problem arises that is best to go and see it for yourself, so you can thoroughly understand it. It is closely followed by Honda in terms of the Japanese market. In response to the economic downturn, Toyota has cut thousands of temporary and indeed permanent workers as well as cutting car production and freezing pay.
The second largest Japanese carmaker, Honda, is also the 6th largest carmaker globally. Like Toyota, Honda also has interests in many areas. These include cars, motorcycles, jets, water craft and even lawn and garden equipment. In the UK Honda has a plant near Swindon which has halted production for 4 months due to falling demand for cars in the UK, Europe and across the globe. With sales down around 30%, Honda initially planned to cut vehicle production by 56,000 units. As with all of these carmakers, Honda hopes to begin production again as soon as possible.
Nissan too, Japan's third largest auto maker has been hit hard by falling sales across the globe. The company's UK plant in Sunderland has made 1200 of its staff redundant since the economic downturn began. Other reductions have been made in its plants across the world in locations including Spain, Egypt, India, Mexico and several others. Total job cuts are said to be around 20,000 in total.
It is clear then that Toyota, Honda and Nissan have all been significantly affected by the global downturn, despite having some of the most efficient manufacturing processes in the history of car making – and indeed some of the most desirable cars on the market today. Their extremely high level of efficiency and high brand profile means that Toyota, Honda and Nissan should all be well positioned for the upturn, when it ever comes!