TOYOTA, Japan (AP) – Toyota Motor Corp. is ready to ramp up its growth again, emerging from an intentional soul-searching lull brought on by its massive global recall scandal that began in 2009.
The world’s top-selling automaker outlined a new “architecture” Thursday centered on product development and manufacturing initiatives it hopes will be more fail-proof against quality problems, and allow it to keep growing in a “sustainable” way.
The first cars under the system, medium-sized front-wheel drive cars, will roll out later this year, and be expanded to half its lineup by 2020, the Japanese automaker said.
Executive Vice President Mitsuhisa Kato acknowledged that managing the company’s global scope and model lineup had become an increasing challenge.
“It is making our effort to come out with ever better cars increasingly difficult,” he told reporters at headquarters in Toyota city, central Japan.