Toyota’s recall of nearly 2 million cars doesn’t look good, but any company that records its first loss some 70 years after its foundation must be world class.
In late 1998, I was in Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, when the local Mercedes dealer held a presentation of the new S-Class.
I wrote an analytical article in Russian on the global car industry called The Fateful Mistakes of Mercedes. (Click here for Part I and here for Part II).
Just a few months later, DaimlerChrysler’s share price peaked and over the next few years the stock price collapsed, leaving the company worth less than the German part before the takeover.
In that article, I correctly forecast that Toyota would become the world’s biggest car seller.
Make no mistake – Toyota will overcome its current problems.