Many reviewers, such as J.D. Power, consistently rank Toyota’s products among the best in terms quality and reliability due to their superior engineering in the past. This essence of fine engineering (Toyota Production System, The Toyota Way, etc.) has resulted in a remarkable branding. However, Toyota has been having numerous recalls over the past little while, and for a company that thrives off of having that essence of fine Japanese quality, these recalls can be extremely harmful to their branding.
Everybody knows American car companies are trying to get back into the game, and they are using Toyota’s failure to do so. As soon as the Toyota recalls started spreading, so did the buying incentives for American auto purchases. Toyota is getting hit pretty hard…according to Wall Street Journal, “The immediate impact of Toyota Motor Corp.’s recalls and sales stoppages is estimated to cost the company around $1 billion.” But the executives at Toyota are much more concerned about the effects of these recalls to their branding in the long run. This just shows how important branding really is in the business world. Branding is power. Power is money. That’s just how business works.
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2010/02/toyota-recall-news-highlights.html
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