Toyota 2006 Annual Report Download - page 27

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longer enough. It then becomes a
provocative challenge; you become
determined to clear that target no
matter what.”
A Strong Start for
the New Camry
The full remodeling of the Camry
strengthened its brand power and
revolutionized the way Toyota builds
cars. “Despite facing numerous diffi-
culties, Toyota and Team Camry cre-
ated a car that more than lived up to
their expectations,” CE Kenichiro Fuse
surmises.
Sales of the new Camry made a
promising start following its much-
anticipated launch at the beginning
of 2006. In the U.S. market, in accor-
dance with plans, existing Camry
owners welcomed the new model
while the percentage of young cus-
tomers among buyers jumped from
17% to 26%. These figures clearly
show that Team Camry hit its mark.
Customer feedback has been enthu-
siastic, including comments like “the
V6 engine gives exciting performance,”
The Camry’s Future
“the brakes are outstanding,” and
“although the styling is sharp, the
cabin is spacious and comfortable.”
Furthermore, May 2006 saw the
long-awaited marketing of the
Camry Hybrid in North America.
Nothing signals Toyota’s unbending
commitment to popularizing hybrids
as mainstream eco cars more clearly
than the development of a hybrid
model of the best-selling passenger
car in the United States. Realizing
outstanding driving performance
and the environmental performance
of a compact car, the hybrid not
only opens up a new future for the
Camry, it will also significantly bene-
fit the global environment. As the
first hybrid to be built in the United
States, it also represents a milestone
for our localizing efforts.
Focusing on Offering Reliable Quality
Vinnie Venugopal
General Manager, Quality Control Division, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK)
Our primary role was to meet customers’ ever demanding quality expectations with the new Camry.
Fundamental to this goal was the establishment of “One Voice” to Design from all manufacturing loca-
tions. For a successful Camry launch, it was imperative that all problems be addressed early in the devel-
opmental stage. We communicated early to Design, manufacturing and customer concerns that needed to
be incorporated in drawings. Our Quality Engineering team checked and confirmed more than 17,000
technical related items on drawings. Late engineering changes were thus limited. This enabled us to tran-
sition from the old generation Camry to the new one without production stoppage. Lastly, our newly cre-
ated Quality slogan “With Customers in Mind, Build it Right the First Time,” not only epitomizes the will of
our team members, but also the dedication to meet customers’ expectations.
Simultaneously realizing sharp dynamic
styling and a spacious comfortable cabin
space, the new-model Camry continues
to win high acclaim in the mainstay
North American market.
May 2006 saw the unveiling of the
Camry Hybrid in North America. We aim
to harness the unique acceleration and
unmatched environmental performance
of hybrid vehicles to swell the ranks of
Camry fans.
The Camry Challenge —Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—