Toyota Aims To Reduce Part Variation By Up To 76 Percent!

We’ve been hearing it quite often lately: cars need to be simpler. That trend started years ago with Tesla; the Chinese also like to work with a very limited number of variations, and now automotive giants like Volkswagen and Toyota are following suit. The global market leader from Japan wants not only fewer models but also fewer variations, reports Automotive News. They spoke with Toyota CEO Kenta Kon, who took office this year, about the future of Toyota.

Kon is a finance man by training, and that is evident. He wants nothing more than to reduce the so-called break-even volume—that is, the sales volume at which Toyota breaks even. Kon therefore wants to be prepared for a future in which Toyota might sell fewer cars, but remains financially healthy. This means that a trend must be reversed, as the break-even volume is actually rising again. To address this, the Toyota CEO wants to significantly reduce the number of variations in parts, among other measures. Sometimes, Kon argues, customers benefit from these differences. Differences can manifest themselves in colors, materials, and the presence of specific features, for example, but in many cases, according to Kon, the customer actually gains nothing from all that variation. As an example, he cites the different upholstery fabrics applied to the front, sides, and back of seats. That can and must be reduced, Kon tells Autonews.com, so that Toyota can drastically cut costs without customers suffering any disadvantages.

That reduction is being achieved with the proverbial axe. Toyota’s own interior parts supplier, Toyota Boshoku, claims to have already reduced the number of different headrest parts by 76 percent. In a broader sense, a one-third reduction seems to be the goal. Internally, this is called RPT33, where the letters stand for Reduction in Part Types. For certain parts, this has already been achieved: the new Toyota RAV4 reportedly offers one-third less variation in door handles. The number of different exterior mirror parts has even been reduced by half, reports Automotive News.

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