When you’re right, you’re right: Toyota (TM) pushing Tundras & Sequias to China and India

Posted August 13, 2008

"Toyota, like rivals Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp., is finding it difficult to sell the larger vehicles as gas prices hover near the 4-dollar mark." — People’s Daily Online

Blogger’s note: Despite my deep love of the Tata Nano and strong desire to see Indian car producer Tata Motors (TTM:NYSE) thrive during the recession, I have to admit that J. Christoph Amberger was right.

In an article he posted nearly two weeks ago, Christoph predicted that dominant carmakers in the U.S. (and yes, I’m counting Toyota in that catagory, since it makes a bulk of its money, and a surprising number of its automobiles, here) are sending their unsold vehicles into emerging markets. And we now have the Chinese state-run newspaper People’s Daily backing him up on that.

According to Christoph, these cars, designed for spoiled American consumers, are going to sell like hotcakes (rice cakes? samosas?) in India and China and do major damage to the profits of local carmakers like my favorite 1 lakh car manufacturer Tata and China’s homegrown Brilliance Automotive (BCAHY:OTC).

But don’t take my word for it. And you may not want to take People’s Daily’s word for it, either. I know some people can get a bit touchy about newspapers that are directly controlled by the Chinese government. This is the same government that insists no one died at Tienanmen Square and tells the public that the Dalai Lama is a terrorist, afterall. So if you take them with a grain of salt, here’s a link to the Wall Street Journal report cited by this unnamed People’s Daily reporter ("unnamed" because People’s Daily doesn’t name him or her. We’re big fans of personal responsibility here at TFN and would give you the name if we could find it… Oh, yeah, and speaking of personal responsibility, Stephanie Grimmett is writing this blogger’s note.).

by People’s Daily Online

Baltimore and Beijing — (TFN): Toyota Motor Corp. (TM:NYSE) is exploring whether to export its U.S. pickup and sport-utility vehicles to other countries, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The Japanese automaker, which produces the Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV, is looking at other markets around the world, although no decision has been made, Steve St. Angelo, president of Toyota’s Manufacturing Kentucky Inc., was quoted as saying.

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Toyota, like rivals Ford Motor Co. (F:NYSE) and General Motors Corp. (GM:NYSE), is finding it difficult to sell the larger vehicles as gas prices hover near the 4-dollar mark, said the report.

Toyota, which imports about 30 percent of the vehicles it sells in the United States, joins a growing list of companies that are considering exporting products given the weak dollar. Read on to learn which carmakers are exporting their wares overseas.

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