Toyota Announces New Development Plan, Confirms Three New Platforms
Toyota has announced a new vehicle development strategy aimed at reducing development periods, and lowering costs by as much as 30 percent.
Named ‘Toyota New Global Architecture’, or TNGA, the programme will see multiple models develope
Toyota has announced a new vehicle development strategy aimed at reducing development periods, and lowering costs by as much as 30 percent.
Named ‘Toyota New Global Architecture’, or TNGA, the programme will see multiple models developed simultaneously to boost the number of common parts across its line-up.
The strategy is for these parallel models to be sold across global markets, with the increased commonality of parts freeing up resources required to tailor these models for specific regions.
It is still unclear which models will be included in the new strategy, but Toyota is no stranger to modular platforms.
In the carmaker's current international range, models that share technologies and components include the Camry, Aurion, Kluger and Tarago, along with Lexus RX and ES models.
Similar to Ford’s ‘One Ford’ strategy in its consolidation of platforms (among others), Toyota will initially demonstrate TNGA with the launch of three front-wheel-drive platforms that will account for as much as half of the company's worldwide production volume.
Toyota has also made it clear that it wants to lift the consumer appeal of its future models.
Speaking with Fox Business this week, Toyota boss Akio Toyoda said that the brand's huge sales growth in the lead-up to the global financial crisis led to an “if we build it, they will come," attitude.
"Instead of developing what customers would want next, we were making cars that would rake in sales," Toyoda said.
The strategy will also give more authority to the chief engineer of each program, enabling greater design freedom and speeding up the development process.
Toyota aims to use this new approach to create more emotional appeal in its range, along with a focus on lowering the centre of gravity of its models, to deliver a more appealing driving experience.
Toyota confirmed that the first tangible hint of TNGA was the NS4 plug-in hybrid concept unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January.
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