A recent NHK (Japan's equivalent to China's CCTV) documentary has caused quite a stir in the domestic automotive industry. Titled "Inside Toyota," the documentary shares the behind-the-scenes story of how Toyota Motor, the world's largest automaker with annual sales exceeding 10 million vehicles and an annual revenue of up to 50 trillion yen (approximately 2.1 trillion RMB; according to the Top 500 Chinese Enterprises list, in 2025, only 15 companies in China exceeded 1 trillion RMB in revenue, and BYD, the highest-revenue automaker, had a 2025 revenue of 0.77 trillion RMB), copes with challenges in a turbulent era.
The video revolves around the development story of the next-generation Corolla, Toyota's iconic flagship model, against the backdrop of Toyota engineers feeling threatened by emerging manufacturers from China and other countries, engaging in a fierce battle for survival. The NHK video enters Toyota's highly confidential R&D base for the next-generation Corolla, a place strictly off-limits to anyone other than relevant personnel. It also covers the most crucial meeting where Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda and all executives gathered to decide on the market launch of this developed model.
This article is the complete Chinese transcript of this video, compiled by Vehicle based on the Japanese dialogues, voiceovers, and English hearing clips from the video.
To help everyone quickly scan and identify key points: How does Toyota define the next-generation Corolla in the face of challenges from Chinese automakers? What exactly did Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda and all executives discuss when they gathered? How does Toyota plan to survive? As a vital enterprise supporting Japanese manufacturing, what is it reflecting on?
This video is worth studying for Chinese automotive professionals to understand how to achieve sustainable development and globalization.
Below is the complete Chinese transcript of the video:
Opening: A Car Reaches the Final Checkpoint Before Market Launch
Voiceover:
A group of engineers is shouldering the development task of a model regarded as the company's symbol.
In four days, they will face the final internal review. If it passes, this car will head to the global market.
The camera moves to the design discussion site. Someone points to the car body details and says, "This part originally looked very thick, giving a somewhat heavy feeling. If we replace this with this, look, the gap between here and here will become very small. The key is in this tightened area."
They stare at these details, which differ by only a few millimeters, and discuss them repeatedly. Because within Toyota, many people judge whether a car is good-looking enough through such details. This is the highest-level meeting of one of the world's best-selling automakers to decide whether a new product can be launched into the market. Emerging automakers in China and elsewhere are rising rapidly, and competition is becoming increasingly fierce.
How does Toyota plan to survive? As a vital enterprise supporting Japanese manufacturing, what is it reflecting on? The meeting begins. Moderator: "Everyone, can we start? The core topic of today's review is the next-generation Corolla. Let's officially begin the review."
Over 400 People, 30,000 Parts, and the "Z" Responsible for Holding Everyone Together
Voiceover:
Time goes back a few months. In the meetings of the next-generation Corolla development team, various technical terms keep emerging.
A car consists of approximately 30,000 parts and is an extremely complex industrial product. More than 400 members participate in the development of a single car model.
Designers discuss the front windshield and car body frame. To achieve better forward and side visibility, the glass edges are extended outward as much as possible, even approaching areas without frame support. Someone says, "For this corner, I want to refine it down to the millimeter."
The original subtitles had slight recognition errors for some technical terms in this section, but the core of the discussion is clear: visibility, structure, and styling must be established simultaneously, and not a single millimeter can be easily compromised.
At Toyota, the department that oversees overall vehicle development is called Product Planning. On the left side of the meeting room sit the testing department members; on the right side are personnel and schedule management staff, as well as those responsible for coordinating the production system.
It is unusual for the camera to enter here because highly confidential models under development are being discussed. The interviewer asks, "What is ZE?" The staff replies, "ZE is our team. We belong to the Z Product Planning group within Toyota's C-segment vehicle product group." Product Planning must integrate the R&D site.
Toyota takes the last letter of the English alphabet and calls this organization "Z." The ZE team is responsible for models like the Corolla. Its Chief Engineer, Fukushima, bears the product responsibility for Toyota's approximately 2 million vehicles annually. Fukushima says, "Now is exactly the stage where we listen to demands from around the world. Japan, the US, India—every region is telling us what they hope the next-generation product will be like. My schedule is often pushed very far back."
After 57 Million Units, Can the Corolla Still Be Aspirational?
Voiceover:
The cumulative sales of the Corolla have reached 57 million units. It is one of the best-selling models globally and a very special existence in Japanese manufacturing.
The Chief Engineer of the first-generation Corolla was Tatsuo Hasegawa. The Corolla was born in 1966, when Japan was in a period of rapid economic growth. Since then, it became the best-selling model in Japan for 33 consecutive years, establishing its status as a mass-market car.
After 12 generations, the Corolla is sold in over 150 countries worldwide, becoming one of the representatives of "Made in Japan." However, Fukushima and the Z team want to completely change the inherent image of the Corolla in the next-generation model. They designed a larger front windshield and a more streamlined body.
Why must it change? Because the team has a strong sense of crisis: in a rapidly changing world, can the Corolla still survive? Fukushima says, "Now we can access any information, and there is endless entertainment. What exactly must we do to make people aspire to it? If we just make another ordinary sedan that can be seen everywhere, I feel the name 'Corolla' might slowly disappear."
60 years ago when the Corolla was born, many people believed tomorrow would be wealthier than today. But in today's Japan, the wealth gap is widening, and the middle class is gradually thinning. Fukushima says, "We want to touch the hearts of these people. But it's impossible to customize a car individually for every country and every user. Even so, we still hope that when users sit inside, they feel: this car is very suitable for me." Meanwhile, past industry common sense is being rewritten by competitors. Tesla in the US develops cars with software at its core.
The traditional habit of using a car is to get in, press the start switch, and start the engine. But Tesla has no traditional start button; once you sit in, you can drive away directly. Using a car and using a smartphone are beginning to become similar experiences. China's BYD has about 900,000 employees. Toyota usually takes 6 years for a model generation change, while BYD can compress the cycle to about 2 years. Its competitiveness is not just about price; core technologies like batteries also have advantages.
At a core member meeting, the Z team voiced the realistic pressures. Chinese manufacturers are believed to adopt a development system that pushes forward continuously, nearly 24 hours a day. In markets like Asia, Toyota's share has already begun to be snatched away. Fukushima says, "The problems faced by various global markets are actually the same. If we cannot completely change the past Corolla, we cannot continue to win over users."
Simultaneous Development of Platform and Vehicle: Can Time Be Saved, and Where Will the People Come From?
Voiceover:
The direction is set, but members immediately raise a realistic question: do we have enough manpower?
Engineer: "Can we understand this as, have the development resources been secured? Honestly, this is still unclear to us right now." The project side replies: "The resources needed for formal development cannot be said to be fully secured yet. We must first clarify together what kind of car we want to make and the scale of development, and then simultaneously advance the arrangement of resources and development routes."
The next-generation Corolla has another task directly related to Toyota's future: developing a brand-new basic platform. The platform is the underlying skeleton of a car. Automakers install different upper bodies, also known as "top hats" or "Upper Bodies," on a common skeleton to develop various models. Platform development requires massive investment and is usually conducted only once every ten years or so.
The first model to be equipped with this new platform is the next-generation Corolla.
The traditional process is to finalize the platform development first, and then develop the upper body. But this time, Toyota wants to develop the platform and the Corolla vehicle in parallel to significantly shorten the cycle. More specifically, it also hopes to use the same platform to cover everything from gasoline vehicles to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This is a development strategy Toyota has not adopted in the past.
Engineers from the manufacturing department raised strong concerns. Manufacturing Engineer: "Since the start of this project, I have been working with the design and testing departments. To be honest, just making the car in front of us has everyone so busy that their faces are pale; it looks exhausting just watching. The direction of retaining the ability to make more derivative versions in the future is fine, but please give us enough time.
It was just said that man-hours would be guaranteed, but is this true? Even if we have people, can we really mass-produce it according to the current schedule? If we keep pushing this hard, Mr. Tazaki and others really can't take it anymore." The project side replies: "I didn't say the schedule and man-hours are already established. We want to discuss with everyone how exactly we can achieve this. Let's first set a goal of shortening it by half a year.
Because if we say we'll do it in three years, the market might no longer pay attention. But we will keep studying until we really can't squeeze out any more time and resources, and then advance after fully communicating with superiors." The person in charge then said to Honda, who raised the question: "Thank you for speaking on behalf of everyone and saying the hard things to say. I don't feel like I'm opposing you. I am also one of the people under pressure.
This is indeed very difficult. It's impossible for others to say 'do everything,' and we just do everything; we must prioritize. This project is extremely tough, but if Toyota is to survive, we must keep doing it. Looking globally, we are gradually losing to Chinese manufacturers. We want to find a way to continue competing through this project."
A City Named After a Company, and the 60,000 Enterprises Behind It
Voiceover:
Driving southeast from Nagoya for over an hour, you will reach a city named after a single enterprise: Toyota City.
Toyota's headquarters plant began production in 1938. At that time, the annual output was only 4,615 units; today, Toyota's global annual production reaches 9,950,904 units. Against the backdrop of Japan's declining population and low economic growth, Toyota continues to promote the globalization of production and sales, but the R&D hub has long remained in a building in Toyota City, which is the Technical Headquarters Building gathering a large number of engineers. After a new car is launched, engineers will completely dismantle it and then disclose it internally. About 75% of a car's parts are provided by suppliers, and Toyota is connected to a cumulative total of about 60,000 trading enterprises behind it.
A supplier introduces: "We produce aluminum materials, forged parts made of aluminum, and suspension components. Toyota's global production is in the first tier, so how to enter its supply system is our task." Displayed nearby are vehicles from competing brands. Toyota buys back and studies cars that attract attention in the market. The three cars in the shot are all competitive models that the team was focusing on at the time.
To counter these opponents, the Corolla team redesigned the prototype trial production process and began to compress the development cycle. In the early stages of trial production, engineers responsible for overall vehicle evaluation enter the project to confirm pedal positions on a scale of 1 millimeter.
Someone sits in the car and says, "Isn't it a bit narrow just above the A pedal? On the toe side..." The engineer explains: "In the past, platform prototypes would be made first, second, third time, refining round by round. This time, we plan to do it only once and solve the problem." Interviewer asks: "Why adopt short-cycle development now?" Engineer: "To win the competition. The opponents' speed is too fast, and model generation changes are becoming more and more frequent. To get good products to market as soon as possible, we must shorten the R&D lead time.
The past development methods are no longer sufficient." Japan's automotive industry supports the employment of about 5.5 million people. Toyota must continue to find its own way. An engineer says, "If we keep using the past high-cost, long-cycle methods, while the opponents' product competitiveness keeps improving, the gap will only widen. We must shorten the development cycle. But if we just copy the opponents, Toyota has no chance of winning. The unique fine-tuning and quality of automobiles cannot be compromised. How much we can compress the cycle without giving up these things is our challenge."
Another conversation touched upon Toyota's position in Japan's automotive industry. Someone said, "For a while, Toyota was criticized for 'winning alone.' But if Toyota loses, the entire supply chain might lose. No one wants to see such a situation. We must win, and we cannot rely on Toyota alone. The entire industry must become partners and work together; otherwise, we cannot get through this crisis."
Another Side of Akio Toyoda: Morizo and "Driving Feel"
Voiceover:
Akio Toyoda, the Chairman leading this large multinational enterprise, has another side. Under the name "Morizo," he serves as Toyota's Chief Test Driver, participating in determining the final driving feel of every car.
After a test drive, Akio Toyoda said, "When braking hard, is there still a slight sway at the rear? However, when accelerating out of the corner, the feeling of the car steering and turning is very good; even I can drive it with great peace of mind."
The interviewer asked a very basic question: "What exactly is the feeling of the 'driving feel' that Mr. Morizo values?" Akio Toyoda didn't talk about parameters but used video production as an analogy. "When you make a video, you shoot a lot of footage first, right? Then you edit it after shooting. When editing to a certain point, do you suddenly feel, 'this is it'?"
The interviewer answered, "Yes." Akio Toyoda said, "It's exactly that feeling. There is no fixed formula. The chief test driver finally touches and drives it, feeling that something here seems wrong, or feeling that this time it's right, and then makes a judgment." Interviewer: "So it's an emotional/sensory judgment?" Akio Toyoda: "I think it is absolutely sensory." Vehicles under development are continuously brought to the track.
A six-wheeled test vehicle also appeared on site. Engineers said Toyota had never made such a car before, so they could only forcibly splice existing vehicles together for verification. The team brought the designer responsible for the third-row design and the designer responsible for the body color to the test site. In a large organization, the track actually allows people in different positions to discuss face-to-face directly. After looking at the vehicle, Akio Toyoda said, "This car should make people feel it can seat six from the very beginning. Whether one, two, or six people sit inside, there should be no strange sense of incongruity."
From the First Operating Loss to the US Congressional Hearing
Voiceover:
When Akio Toyoda took office as President, the company had just been hit by the Lehman crisis and recorded its first operating loss. In this crisis, described as "once in a century," he took on the responsibility of steering Toyota.
Akio Toyoda recalled, "It was the first loss since the company's founding. Because my surname is Toyota, the outside world always thought I would become President sooner or later, as if there was only one answer. But the reality was, others would say: because you come from the founding family, you've already been made President; then hurry up and take responsibility for the loss, resign, and leave the rest to us. That's how I felt at first." "My life has always seemed to be viewed through colored glasses by others. Because I come from the founding family, I've been thinking since birth: why can't everyone just look at the real me, the same as an ordinary person?" A greater crisis followed. Toyota had a massive recall in the US, and Akio Toyoda was required to testify at a US Congressional hearing. Toyota stated: "After a very strict internal investigation, as well as an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, no vehicle malfunction has been found so far, so we are convinced there are no design issues." A US congressman responded, "Mr. Toyoda, I am not satisfied with your testimony. I believe your testimony does not accurately reflect the large number of complaints." Akio Toyoda answered in English at the hearing: "Over the past few years, Toyota's business has expanded very rapidly. Frankly, I worry that our growth rate may have been too fast. As you all know, I am the grandson of the company's founder, and all Toyota cars carry my family name. For me, when the cars are harmed, it's as if I myself am harmed." Toyota attributed one of the causes of the recall issue to the company's past over-prioritization of scale expansion. After taking office, Akio Toyoda changed the past practice of making sales volume the highest priority and began to adjust the product structure that overly favored best-selling models. Overseas respondents evaluated the past Toyota like this: it was essentially a company that manufactured "economical box cars"; the cars were reliable, safe, and economical, but somewhat boring. Akio Toyoda completely changed this direction, making cars more exciting, more fun to drive, and more sporty. A phrase he kept repeating was: "Build better cars." Akio Toyoda recalled, "At first, I said 'let's build better cars,' and I received a lot of criticism. People asked: do you think the cars we build now are not good? So later I added the word 'better.' Some also criticized me, saying I couldn't even give a numerical target, just sighing." "But if someone in my position casually gives a number, the people below might resort to any means necessary to achieve it. Many people haven't been recognized for a long time; once the number becomes the only goal, things will get weird. 'Building better cars' is inherently something that takes a very long time. If you only stare at the numbers, what you really want to do will shift." "Competitors will change, technology will change, these are all normal. The biggest risk is that we think we are already very great and start to become arrogant. Once internally the idea arises that 'we are already perfect' or 'we are the best,' decline may begin."
Final Product Review: Who Is the Customer, and What Constitutes "Good Product, Low Price"?
Voiceover: The day to decide whether the product can go to market has finally arrived.
Executives from around the world and engineers responsible for development attend the meeting. It is said that in the past, some models were halted at such meetings.
The moderator asks Fukushima to begin the explanation. Fukushima introduces that the product concept of the next-generation Corolla is "The Surprising Corolla." Its philosophy is to integrate into more people's lives, support daily life, create smiles, and adhere to "Good Product, Low Price" (providing good products at reasonable prices). The team stands next to the development car, explaining the sales and profit plans. But the first question raised by management is very simple.
Management: "You say 'Good Product, Low Price,' can this car really achieve a reasonable price? Becoming a good product seems possible." Fukushima: "Thank you. As explained on the cost page just now, we start from basic qualities to make thorough improvements, reduce factors that might push up costs, and bring down the base cost. Then we only add what is truly necessary, like adding ingredients, to form a complete market-ready vehicle."
Management presses: "What does truly necessary mean? Who decides and how?" Fukushima: "Ultimately, of course, the customer decides. The specific work is discussed jointly by us, the sales department, and various regions."
Management continues to ask: "Who is the customer? Politicians often say 'for the people,' but who exactly are the people? These two questions are actually the same." Fukushima: "The customer as I understand it is the specific person standing in front of us whom we truly want to buy this car, or whom we hope will say 'wow' when they see it. If someone says, 'Is this still a Corolla?', I would actually take it as a compliment."
Management: "The ones who actually pay and use this car long-term are the customers. Rather than collecting information from 1,000 irresponsible people, it's better to seriously listen to the opinions of 10 people who truly want to buy this car." The discussion then turns to the heavily invested platform development.
The head of the technical department explains why the new platform must cover gasoline vehicles to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). "The biggest problem is that Toyota lacks suitable products in the compact BEV segment. We studied it in the past, but it was always hard to create styling that satisfies customers. So this time we need to solve two problems: first, even if the body is very small, we can arrange battery space; second, even if an engine is installed, we can maintain a low body posture. Honestly, these two points are the most important."
Management asks: "Won't this bring a lot of trouble to production and manufacturing? Sharing a platform for multiple powertrains and multiple models sounds good, but can the site really handle it?" The development side admits that different versions will increase the difficulty of managing development resources. Shiga, responsible for production technology, then speaks. Shiga: "If all models were exactly the same, things would of course be simple. But now some add parts, some reduce parts, and various differences are mixed together. Our production technology personnel have entered the project and are designing a structure with the development department to make these additions and reductions easier to achieve. As long as the structure is established and conditions like collision performance are all met, we can proceed."
Management talks about demand forecasting: "The sales department is always making forecasts, but they can't be accurate every time. Precisely because supply and demand are hard to match perfectly, we should instead give the factories more flexibility. Every time they say 'absolutely no problem,' but in the past, it wasn't right every time. It's best to assume from the start that the forecast might be inaccurate." The company had previously also judged that BEVs would popularize rapidly in a short time, but the facts deviated greatly from the forecast.
Finally, Akio Toyoda points out: "The key is who makes the decision and when. This cannot rely solely on bottom-up approaches. When risks need to be taken, people at a sufficiently high level must take them." The meeting lasts 45 minutes. Although many issues were raised regarding the development of the Corolla and the new platform, it ultimately received approval.
The Platform's "Lifeline": Over 50 Crash Cars and Two Front Side Members
Voiceover: One of the most difficult tasks in platform development is ensuring crash safety. Regardless of how vehicle weight and size change, it must meet the regulatory requirements of different countries and protect occupants and power batteries inside the vehicle.
A crash test vehicle is equipped with a large number of sensors and is very expensive. To complete the verification, more than 50 prototype vehicles need to be crashed. The platform has a key skeleton called the "lifeline." There are two main structural components at the front of the vehicle, called front side members. During a collision, the front side members need to fold in a controlled manner as designed, safely absorbing the impact through their own deformation to protect the passenger compartment. To improve development efficiency, key parts like the front side members must be shared among different models as much as possible.
The engineer says, "The hardest part is controlling how this component folds. If the folding mode is unstable, it cannot reliably protect the passenger compartment. So we invested a lot of time in the design and development of this structure." A single platform must bear the fate of tens of millions of cars globally over the next decade. If it cannot adapt to changes, the losses will be enormous.
The engineer explains, "The demand for BEVs is hard to predict. Therefore, an architecture that can be shared among multiple models must be formed in advance. Otherwise, we might invest a lot of money, make various versions, and end up not using them at all." "The platform must meet the needs of different products, be as cheap and lightweight as possible, and remain competitive. In any era, these are the keys to evaluating platform design. As for possibilities that haven't emerged yet, we must try to consider them as well. To say we've done it all sounds cool, of course, but reality isn't that simple." Engineers must also continue to pursue the driving feel of the vehicle. As an automaker facing emerging manufacturers head-on, this cannot be given up.
"It's difficult. If you want to make the car lighter and cheaper, everyone will ask: why is this part still needed here? As we gradually form a perspective truly belonging to car makers, we also begin to constantly question what value the new platform should provide." Someone asks, "That's right, isn't it?" The engineer answers, "I think there must be reasons for this. And we have indeed gradually figured out some things we didn't understand in the past. Shamefully, I've worked at Toyota for over 20 years, and there are still many things I don't understand, especially the driving feel of a vehicle. You know a car is good during a test drive, but if asked exactly what to change to create that feeling, sometimes even after repeatedly test-driving other companies' cars, you don't necessarily understand right away."
Interviewer: "Are there really things even engineers don't understand?" Engineer: "Yes, of course. The driving performance of cars is really hard. Even just changing the thickness of a bolt flange can make the vehicle perform better; it's such a detailed world. Did you think it wasn't that hard?" "I didn't understand it before joining the company either, why everyone always said European cars are good and domestic cars are not. I felt very unconvinced, so I joined an auto company to build good cars. But even now, there are still many things I haven't figured out."
Software-Defined Vehicles Are Here, But Cars Can't Crash and Reboot Like Smartphones
Voiceover: As AI (Artificial Intelligence) advances and autonomous driving popularizes, there is a view that software will determine the value of cars in the future. By then, traditional automakers might only be responsible for manufacturing a "box" that carries hardware and software. Like the smartphone industry, industry dominance will shift to IT and tech companies.
Toyota is also gathering software talent to participate in this development competition. But something like a platform is still thorough hardware manufacturing. Akio Toyoda says, "Everyone might be used to the usage environment of ordinary electronic products. But the temperatures a car faces can range from minus 50 degrees Celsius to plus 50 degrees Celsius, and locally even close to 100 degrees Celsius; it also has to endure continuous vibration, and more importantly, it carries human lives." "If an electronic device crashes, you can just say let's reboot it. But if a car crashes while driving, people might lose their lives. So don't simply equate cars with smartphones. At least for the digital environment inside the cabin, I think it's best to leave it to companies that truly understand cars."
Mid-Engine Sports Cars: Knowing They Won't Sell Much, Still Must Hone the Technology
Voiceover: Toyota is also developing a car that pursues driving performance from scratch.
It differs from ordinary mass-production cars; the engine is not placed at the front but in the middle of the body, which is a mid-engine structure. The heavy engine is located in the center of the vehicle, allowing the drive wheels to get a fuller load and exert the tires' driving force. The center of gravity is close to the center of the body, and steering and turning performance will also improve. The engineer says, "A mid-engine definitely has an advantage in cornering performance. What we need to study now is how to use this advantage on this track. There are quite a few corners here, requiring the vehicle to pass while enduring lateral G-forces. We are making this car to challenge things we haven't done in the past, accumulate technology, and also accumulate human skills."
The mid-engine occupies passenger space, making it hard to achieve large sales volumes. Even so, Toyota still pursues driving performance, handling fun, and technological accumulation. For an auto company, this is work related to survival. After completing the first lap, the test driver reports that the engine's RPM response is not smooth enough in some sections, and the power output feels insufficient on the main straight. It can be confirmed that the team is discussing engine RPM climb and power response. Professional drivers also join the development, comparing the test vehicle with competing models. Mid-engine sports cars have long accumulated technology by European brands through racing and track development.
After test-driving a Porsche, the driver says, "No matter how much you press the throttle, the car doesn't easily slide. In the most basic way of using tires, Porsche is indeed amazing, and it doesn't just rely on aerodynamics." Someone on site exclaims, "That's incredible." Interviewer asks: "Is Porsche really that strong?" Engineer: "Very strong. I am shocked every time I drive it. I'm testing the most ordinary version, not a model specifically prepared for the track, yet it has such a strong sporty feel and is comfortable to ride in. These are indeed technologies Toyota hasn't mastered yet." Interviewer: "Not at all?" Engineer: "Not at all. We still haven't completely figured out what exactly it does, so we keep researching."
Manufacturing Department Rejects Drawings: Decisions Made in the Meeting Room Must Be Borne by the Production Line for Six Years
Voiceover: The Corolla project, the first to be equipped with the new platform, has reached another critical node.
The development team submits the design drawings to the manufacturing department responsible for mass production. The manufacturing department must judge whether they can start making mass-production molds. The developer explains one of the countermeasures: "This is countermeasure four. We added reinforcements at the stress points of the crash beam. Please see the lower left for the results."
The manufacturing department then raises an opinion unexpected by the development team: key structures like the front side members still have too many issues and cannot proceed to the next stage. Manufacturing head Honda says, "Excuse me, I'd like to state our thoughts. Only when all performance is qualified, all requirements are met, and every item can be checked off, can we officially accept the drawings and enter mold design. I'm sorry, but for this batch of drawings submitted on the 24th, we wish to reject them, is that okay?" The development side states that, looking at the subsequent schedule, the project has reached the stage where mold design must be started. But if forced to push forward now, making everyone behind suffer rework together, it's equally painful. Once molds are manufactured, many things are hard to reverse; but the schedule has no slack. Someone proposes a compromise: "The situation is different for different parts.
Some can start mold design, and some of course cannot yet. Let's screen first, and for parts that have solved the problems, continue to advance mold research. Is it okay to say this?" The manufacturing department does not concede.
Honda says, "For example, the issue of the spot welding pitch on the front side member, this is a very big problem, really big. We are of course already discussing it and know roughly what direction to take for countermeasures. But does this mean we can continue to the next step? This is a very hard part to judge. By normal standards, the answer is no. Moreover, it's the front side member, the core component determining platform performance. I think it's best to wait until the entire set of conditions is fully ready before submitting, otherwise we might have to start over in the end."
Toyota produces about 10 million cars annually in Japan and overseas. Honda, who rejected the drawings, has worked for 41 years in the manufacturing technology department supporting stable production. He explains why the manufacturing side is so cautious. "Suppose two parts have exactly the same shape, but the sheet thickness differs by just 0.2 millimeters; it might require another set of molds and a completely different manufacturing tuning method."
Interviewer confirms: "It will change even with a 0.2mm difference?" Honda answers: "It will change." To meet the regulations and user demands of different countries, the types and quantities of auto parts continue to increase.
Taking the wiring harness that transmits electrical signals as an example, a single production line has 679 types. Honda says, "Can you ask the site to keep doing such work for six years? The lifecycle of a car model is six years. A decision made in the meeting room in one hour might have to be continuously borne by the site people for six years. That's why I say no.
The truly ideal approach is to move the meeting room to the production site." This platform will be produced in factories around the world in the future. Honda says, "Of course, there are some things that are truly impossible. But if we say 'impossible, impossible, impossible' for every single thing, in the end, there will only be impossibility left. We must turn at least one of them into 'this can be done.'" Interviewer asks: "Having done manufacturing for so many years, what do you value most?" Honda thinks for a moment and answers, "The most important thing is actually not the things. It's the people on the site. In the end, the ones who will truly help you are still the people on the site."
Ending: Japan Must Become a "Country That Is Chosen"
Voiceover: Akio Toyoda said in a speech in Toyota City, "Thank you all for building this city centered around automobiles for a long time."
Toyota Motor founder Kiichiro Toyoda left a phrase shortly after the end of the war: "Build a democratic automotive industrial nation, contributing to the reconstruction of a peaceful Japan and world culture." Today, Toyota still wants to continue developing this city and the automotive industry, letting automobiles and manufacturing take root as a culture. To this end, people must continue to learn, continue to work, and build better things. After the war, Japan's automotive industry long drove economic development. Today, with population decline and continued low growth, Japan still hasn't found another pillar industry that can completely replace the automotive industry.
Talking about Japan's position globally, Akio Toyoda says, "If we say Japan is going to set world standards, many people might think it's impossible. Japan is a small country, but a small country can also have a presence; this has nothing to do with the size of the land. The key is that no matter where you go, people can feel 'this is made by Japanese people,' making people feel 'it's great that there is Toyota from Japan in the world.' I think this is our responsibility." "No matter which country we face, Japan must become a country that is chosen. Otherwise, it will be hard for us to continue surviving."
The Very End
This is no longer video content; it's some thoughts from Vehicle. Sustainable management, lean manufacturing, and global strategy remain aspects of Toyota worth learning for Chinese people.
However, looking through the whole video, it doesn't mention too much about electronics, software, and electrification information. There are two possibilities: one is that this is Toyota's highly confidential information, and they don't want to reveal too much; the other is that Toyota is still sorting out these capabilities and catching up on them.
Based on these two possibilities, in scenario one, Toyota is holding back a big move, and everyone should prepare. But to be honest, apart from a big move in electrification regarding solid-state batteries, other possibilities are not very likely. If it's scenario two, then we can only say the times have changed, and Toyota is facing a relatively big crisis. What do you think? Welcome to leave messages to communicate and discuss. Reference materials and images.
*Strictly prohibited to reprint and excerpt without permission - How to get reference materials for this article: Join our Knowledge Planet to download a massive amount of reference materials from the official account, including the above reference materials.
All images in this article are from the NHK "Inside Toyota" video content.