- Toyota’s new CEO is looking to cut waste and increase profitability.
- He believes the company is creating too many variants of the same thing.
- Some models and trims could get the axe in order to streamline the lineup.
Toyota’s lineup has ballooned over the years and the company offers a dizzying number of trims. As an example, there are 12 versions of the 4Runner and 10 variants of the Grand Highlander.
Toyota’s new CEO wants to address the bloat and transform the automaker into a leaner, more profitable company. According to Autonews, he recently said “If you go to a development division, you see issues such as an increasing number of different specifications and variants being created, which in turn is driving up costs.”
More: Toyota Just Swapped Its ‘Car Guy’ CEO For An Accountant
While variety is the spice of life, Kenta Kon suggested the company might need to take a closer look at things that aren’t contributing to their bottom line. The publication says this is part of a larger review and everything is effectively on the table.
Since the overhaul was announced in May, the company has killed plans for a production version of the Lexus LF-ZC concept. The electric sedan was rumored to arrive in 2027, but was dropped for a variety of concerns including low expected demand.
What Models Wouldn’t You Miss?
While it’s too early to say what will be dropped, it’s not hard coming up with a list of potential candidates. The Mirai is little more than a vanity project at this point and the company only moved 210 units in the United States last year. To put that into prospective, dealers sold 576 GR86s in the month of December alone.
The Crown has also failed to catch on with Americans, despite trying to blend crossover and sedan characteristics. Sales fell by more than 37% last year to 12,309 units, and the company could redirect those customers to either the Camry or Lexus ES.
Interestingly, the Crown Signia is improving as sales more than doubled to 20,550 units. That’s good news, but it’s still a far cry from the 32,086 Venza crossovers that were sold in 2024.
It’s also worth mentioning there are a ton of Tundras despite the fact that the company only sells around 150,000 units annually. In particular, there are 10 variants as well as four bed and cab configurations. That’s probably overkill as Toyota offers four luxury variants known as the Limited, Platinum, Capstone, and 1794 Edition.
These likely generate healthy profits due to their inflated sticker prices, but there’s less than $2,000 separating the Platinum from the 1794 Edition. Do they really need both?
