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Special Feature

The new-model Camry made its much-anticipated debut at Detroit’s NorthAmerican International Auto Show in January 2006. However, the new Camrymarks more than just another model change. Remodeled for the first time infour and a half years, the Camry is a mainstay of Toyota’s worldwide business,and its launch heralded the start of a revolution at Toyota. In this section, welook at the challenges we faced and innovations we made in the developmentof the new Camry.

—Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—

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0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

’05’04’03’02’01’00’99’98’97’96’95’94’93’92’91’90’89’88’87’86’85’84’83’82’80 ’81CY

Cumulative Camry Sales Worldwide(Thousands of units)

With vehicle sales in approximately 170 countries and regions, we aim to build

cars that are the first choice of customers the world over. The foundation of

these efforts to popularize the Toyota brand and secure earnings worldwide

consists of our three global models—the Corolla, Camry, and Yaris (Vitz in

Japan)—and the IMV series. Of those models, the Corolla has become the

Toyota brand’s signature model, with shipments of more than 30 million vehi-

cles since its 1966 launch. In addition, sales of our third global model, the Yaris,

have grown rapidly since its debut in 1999.

Meanwhile, 1980 saw the birth of the Camry as a front engine rear drive

vehicle, the Celica Camry. In 1982, we introduced a front engine front drive (FF)

layout and began exporting the Camry as a high-end FF sedan. Since then, the

Camry has earned the unequivocal endorsement of customers in more than 100

countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, the

Middle East, and Asia. In September 2005, Camry sales passed the 10-million-

vehicle milestone. Moreover, in eight of the past nine years the Camry has

claimed the prestigious title of best-selling passenger car in the United States.

The Camry is a key accelerator of Toyota’s global operations, and we have

steadily expanded production of the model around the world.

More than 10 Million Units Shipped Worldwide

1st Generation

2nd Generation

3rd Generation

4th Generation

5th Generation

Note: Different from fiscal year figures

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China(Guangzhou plant cameonstream in May 2006)

Japan United States(Kentucky)

Australia

Thailand

Taiwan

Russia (St. Petersburg: production scheduled to begin in 2007)

United States (Consignment production to begin at North American plant of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. from spring 2007)

The New Camry Production Bases

The Challenge—SimultaneousWorldwide Start-Up“Global best, local best”—thesecommitments rule the developmentof Toyota’s mainstay global models.By “global best” we mean buildingcars with common value worldwidewhile pursuing the world’s highestlevels of quality and performance.The global best concept is funda-mental to the Toyota mind-set. Wewant to give superior quality andoutstanding cost performance tocustomers buying Toyota vehiclesthroughout the world.

On the other hand, “local best”expresses a commitment to accuratelyreflecting the needs and values of cus-tomers in different regions. Toyotaenhances the value of its core globalmodels by marrying its commitmentsto being global best and local best,and this approach was pivotal in thedevelopment of the new Camry. Wetook on the double challenge of build-ing a car that incorporates commoninternational value and local needs.

The New Camry’s MissionFurther, we set ourselves the addi-

tional task of achieving a simultaneousworldwide start-up of production forthe new Camry. Conventionally, plantsin Japan had production up and run-ning before overseas plants cameonstream in stages over a period of ayear or more. For the new Camry, wesought to shorten that time lag andinitiate production at almost the sametime around the world. Not only doessimultaneous start-up significantlyheighten development and produc-tion efficiency, it enables us to offercustomers worldwide the latest Camryas an “in-season” car.

An Unexpected Comment from a Camry DriverAt the beginning of 2002, chief engi-neer (CE) Kenichiro Fuse was entrust-ed with the development of the newCamry. Failure was not an optionbecause of the model’s importance inthe rollout of Toyota’s worldwideoperations. The first thing our CE didwas visit customers. Although theCamry is the best-selling passengercar in the United States, he felt the

Product DevelopmentApproach I

The New Camry’s Mission

Pursuit of Global Best, Local Best

Realization of WorldwideSimultaneous Production Start-Up

19

Rejuvenation Is the Key WordVehicle-planning discussions for thenew Camry began in fall 2002. Wedebated the development key wordbased on the theme of making theCamry a new global benchmark formid-size sedans. Given all thegloomy news about economic slumps,natural disasters, and so on in soci-ety today, we decided we wanted togive people’s lives a shot of youthfulvigor. As a result, we chose thedesign theme of “rejuvenation.”

In styling—a major determinant ofa car’s image—we went for anAthletic & Modern look. At a glance,drivers get a feeling of youthfulexcitement from the taut futuristiclines. Further, we incorporatedToyota’s latest technologies in allaspects of the vehicle. To realizeexciting driving, we upgraded thesuspension and renewed brakes

Product DevelopmentApproach II

The Camry Challenge —Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—

development team needed to knowhow customers on the ground actuallyuse and rate the Camry. With that inmind, Kenichiro Fuse sent a teamfrom Japan to the United States tosurvey 32 families in six cities.However, the makeup of this teamwas unusual because he wanted thewhole Camry development team tosee firsthand how the market saw theCamry. Accordingly, in addition tomarketing and product planning spe-cialists, the team also included tech-nical specialists, such as designers andproduct assessors.

During the survey, an unexpectedcomment from one Camry driver wasa real eye opener for the members ofthe development team, “the Camryreally is a great car but it is not excit-ing.” In other words, the reliabilitythat we had built up through succes-sive models had also inadvertentlycreated a negative image. That com-ment motivated Mr. Fuse and hisdevelopment team to engineer acompletely new Camry.

Visiting a customer in the United StatesWe visited 32 Camry-owning families in sixU.S. cities to hear firsthand their evaluationsof the Camry and how they use it.

Solidarity Was the Cornerstone of Team Camry’s Success

Kenichiro FuseChief Engineer, Product Development Group, Toyota Motor Corporation

The Camry—one of Toyota’s flagship global models—claims the largest share of the U.S. passenger carmarket. So for me, taking on the development of the new Camry was a very big challenge. What’smore, for this project, not only did we have to develop a car that would win even stronger customerendorsement, we had a special mission—to launch its production simultaneously around the world.When we began, I found the prospect of simultaneously working with multiple production basesworldwide a little daunting. However, once the project was under way my doubts vanished. All of thethings I thought might be obstacles, such as tight schedules, the unprecedented nature of the project,national differences, language barriers, and so on, in fact gelled the development team together.Every day, we made further progress with the project and gathered increasing momentum. Anotherthing that helped was the friendly rivalry among the bases of different countries. By tackling theproject and learning from each other’s experience, we were able to produce results beyond expecta-tions. For me, working on this project amid the camaraderie of Team Camry, which became like family,was a fantastic experience.

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while adding a new V6 engine and anewly developed six-speed auto-matic transmission for overseasmodels. We also used a vehicle bodywith a Multi-load-path construction*that dissipates the energy of sidecollisions. Regarding environmentaltechnology, we introduced the CamryHybrid in the United States, wherethe Camry has its strongest sales.

Thanks to such customer-centeredproduct development, the new Camryis selling briskly. However, beforereaching that stage we had to clear amajor hurdle. We had to discover howto make the Camry an even moredesirable car.* Multi-load-path construction: not only the

side members but also the roof, front seatframes and center cross member have beenreinforced, compared to previous models,thus increasing the side strength to reducethe amount of cabin deformation.

Team Camry Enters the FrayToyota has an Obeya, or large-room,system that dates back to its earlydays. When developing a new vehicle,

Simultaneous WorldwideStart-Up I

managers responsible for decisionmaking in a range of departments,such as design and production engi-neering, gather in one place andcreate task teams. We created aframework for the new Camry projectthat enabled coordination between aglobal Obeya, located at the headoffice development hub in ToyotaCity, Aichi Prefecture, and localObeya, established at productionbases in the United States, Australia,and Asia. Then, Team Camry begangrappling in earnest with the difficulttask of realizing the simultaneousworldwide start-up of production.

The challenge was to orchestratethe system without any hitches. CEFuse recalls, “Fostering a commonvision for the new Camry and strictlymaintaining timely information shar-ing were vital. And, the best way todo that was through face-to-facecommunication.” At least every threemonths, managers from productionbases around the world gathered inJapan to share issues and report onprogress at Milestone Meetings.Also, Mr. Fuse visited local develop-ment teams to communicate hisvision as CE, making more than 20

The Quest for a Challenging and Exciting Vehicle

Above: The reborn Camry sports sleeklines, upgraded driving performance, andoutstanding safety and environmentalperformance. Below: By introducing thehybrid model in the United States, weincreased the attractiveness of the newCamry.

Andrew CoetzeeVice President, Product Planning Department, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

My job was to reflect feedback from U.S. Camry drivers and our dealers in the development process of thenew-model Camry. The Camry is an outstanding vehicle, much-loved by many customers in the States.However, there were many issues that we had to overcome to further evolve the Camry. We worked tomake the Camry more than simply a highly useful car. We aimed to reinvent it as a more exciting car thatcustomers would feel truly passionate about. For example, we introduced a passion to the Camry througha bold redesign of the basic body proportions, a visually and dynamically expressive SE grade.

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trips to North America alone.Further, Team Camry used the high-speed communication of meetingminutes to promote daily informa-tion sharing. In fact, the meetingminutes were sometimes handwrittenbecause Team Camry made a point ofrapidly conveying topics debated inthe global Obeya to bases aroundthe world. This swiftness enabledglobal decision making and engen-dered a sense of unity that under-pinned the work of Team Camry.

Preparation of MasterTechnical DrawingsFor an international project, we gaveourselves a very short period to real-

Simultaneous WorldwideStart-Up II

ize high-quality vehicle manufac-turing. The secret to meeting thattough schedule was the team’s effortto build a highly finished perfor-mance confirmation vehicle (CV)based on a set of master technicaldrawings. Normally, the first step inthe development process is to build aprototype vehicle using test compo-nents. If any glitches come to light,the design is changed. A CV is thenbuilt using actual components. Thismethod extends the developmentperiod and leads to complacency.But, if from the outset a set of mastertechnical drawings can be establishedthat will not require subsequentdesign changes, there is no need tobuild a prototype vehicle. While thistype of development without proto-type vehicles is not unusual at

The Key to Success in a Global Project

John BellChief Engineer, Product Office, Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd. (TMCA)

As the leader of the Camry project at the plant in Australia, I was heavily involved in coordination withToyota’s head office from the start of development, visiting Japan frequently. It was the first time that Ihad played a part in a project to simultaneously develop one vehicle, the Camry, using an internationalproduction platform. The project presented numerous challenges, including digital assembly* and produc-tion preparation based on globally common technical drawings. Nevertheless, the project went smoothlythanks to international teamwork and our shared commitment to the Toyota Way.

* Digital assembly refers to the use of digital engineering to conduct assembly trials using a virtual vehicle.

Members of the local Obeya at ourAustralian plantConstant contact with the developmenthub at the global Obeya in Japan enabledsimultaneous development.

The express communication of meetingminutes played a large part in the globalsharing of information. The left side of theminutes outlines the content of meetings inJapanese, with an English translation onthe right side. After meetings, the globalObeya immediately distributed the minutesto various production bases.

The Camry Challenge —Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—

Development System for the New Camry

JapanGlobal Obeya

(Development hub)

United StatesLocal Obeya

Asia (Thailand, China, and Taiwan)Local Obeya

AustraliaLocal Obeya

Obeya system: A task force system for the developmentof new vehicles in which all of the man-agers responsible for decision making inrelated divisions gather in one place.

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Toyota, attempting to do so on sucha large-scale global project wasunheard of.

The Design Review Meeting was theprime mover in the creation of the setof master technical drawings. TeamCamry threw out the commonplaceidea that preparing technical drawingsis the job of the design department.The drawings were the product ofknow-how from a range of opera-tional functions. Our production andpurchasing departments took part inthe Design Review Meetings and werefully involved in creating the drawings.As a result, spurred by the pressure ofknowing design changes were notallowed after the completion of thedrawings, Team Camry created high-quality actual components withalmost no defects and was able tobuild a very highly finished CV in ashort period. Having completed theCV, the Team Camry members feltsuccess was within reach.

One Component, One DrawingIn conjunction with the preparationof master technical drawings, TeamCamry took on another challenge:the strict limitation of every compo-nent to one drawing. In some cases,different plants had different draw-ings for the same component. Thedisparities had come about becauseof adaptations to differing produc-tion equipment and methods amongplants and suppliers. However, suchdiversity was an obstacle to theestablishment of universal quality andthe enhancement of productivity.Only having one drawing for eachcomponent makes it easier to achieveuniform quality and synchronizeoperations internationally.

A one-sided attempt to squeezeeach component into a single blueprint

Simultaneous WorldwideStart-Up III

Limiting Each Component to a Single Drawing

Hidekazu OtowaGeneral Manager, Body Engineering Division 1, Toyota Development Center 1, Toyota Motor Corporation

Common technical drawings for each component were a precondition for the realization of a simultaneousworldwide production start-up. My task was to prepare a single set of design technical drawings for ahigh-quality vehicle body that brought together and reflected the different production requirements ofplants in different regions. To achieve that, I not only visited Toyota plants the world over, I went to localsuppliers to explain the design concept and the importance of having a single master technical drawing foreach component of the new-model Camry. In the development process, we worked to solve problemsrapidly through the sharing of all types of information, doing our utmost to avoid design changes in thefinal stages. There was some trial and error, but our successful creation of a high-quality car gives me thegreatest satisfaction.

With the aim of realizing developmentwithout a prototype vehicle, highly fin-ished technical drawings were createdthrough collaboration among the designdepartment, the production department,suppliers, and other departments atDesign Review Meetings.

Digital engineering, using simulation tech-nology for the creation of virtual vehicles,played a crucial role in orchestrating thedevelopment of the new Camry at multi-ple sites around the world. Development Stages of the New Camry

Prototype vehicleFS vehicle

(final prototype vehicle)CV

(performance confirma-tion vehicle)

Pilot production vehicle(mass production confirma-

tion vehicle)

New model developed without a prototype vehicle

× ×⇒ ⇒ ⇒

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would have been counterproductive.The technical drawings needed thebacking of production managers atplants and suppliers around theworld. By having these managers takepart in the Design Review Meetings,we enabled lively discussion aboutproduction methods, and thisallowed the team to resolve the prob-lems at the design stage and to incor-porate changes into the technicaldrawings. Through this globalprocess, Team Camry summarized allof the feedback from the productionside into a “single voice.” It is not anexaggeration to say that the achieve-ment of simultaneous start-up anduniform quality worldwide wouldhave been impossible without thefrontloading and resolution of allkinds of quality risks and productionengineering issues at the design andtechnical drawing stages.

Toward Global Pilot ProductionOnce we used the CV to check perfor-mance and quality, the mass produc-tion trial, known as pilot production,began. Until this point, after pilotproduction at plants in Japan finished,overseas pilot production was carriedout, making further adjustment ofproduction lines to suit each region

Simultaneous WorldwideStart-Up IV

unavoidable. However, this staggeredsystem could not achieve a simulta-neous start-up. Therefore, TeamCamry set about creating a single,intensive global pilot production.

Representatives from the variousbases gathered at the Motomachiplant in Toyota City, in AichiPrefecture, to assemble the newCamry. The trial highlighted numer-ous issues. For example, it revealedthat while tall workers could reachthe innermost part of the engineroom to attach components, shorterworkers could not. Such were thetypes of problems that only becameapparent thanks to the global pilotproduction. Through a process ofrepeated trial and error, Team Camryidentified and eliminated these prob-lems one by one. At the end of theglobal pilot production, the trou-bleshooters had an impressive haul ofmore than 3,000 issues resolved.

Global pilot production for massproduction of the new Camryenabled the retooling of productionlines in one fell swoop and near per-fect start-ups in each country. Thelaunch of production of a newmodel usually requires the line toshut down for a few days. However,in the United States our Kentuckyplant changed over from the produc-tion of the old Camry to the newmodel without stopping the line.

Consolidating the Requests of Various Plants into a Single Set of Drawings

Noriaki IkariProject General Manager, Global Production Center (GPC), Toyota Motor Corporation

My job was to examine the technical drawings from the standpoint of manufacturing and establish productionpreparation that was suited to mass production and that would proceed smoothly. Previously, plants in Japanand the U.S., which started production ahead of other plants, examined most of the technical drawings and testvehicles. As a result, the requests of plants starting production later could not be incorporated, which often ledto difficulties. For this project, however, from the initial design stages team members gathered at the GlobalProduction Center and took advantage of digital assembly to include the requests of various plants in a singleset of technical drawings. Unifying the requests of all of the plants and hammering out a consensus took a lot oftime and energy. However, it made a major contribution to the achievement of a simultaneous worldwide pro-duction start-up by stimulating communication among plants and enabling trouble-free production preparation.

Through exhaustive efforts to create asingle technical drawing for each compo-nent, we successfully incorporated theproduction requirements of bases in dif-ferent countries in all technical drawings.This enabled us to achieve uniform quali-ty simultaneously around the world.

Production managers from bases world-wide gathered in Japan to undertake theglobal mass production trial, which wecall global pilot production. Thanks tothe results of that trial, we were able tomove forward with production prepara-tion for the synchronized world start-upin a single concerted push.

The Camry Challenge —Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—

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Moreover, the line had a trouble-freestart-up, reaching peak production ina very short time.

Visualize Costs To be successful, the new Camry hadto surpass its predecessor in everyrespect, including quality and per-formance. In these initiatives, costreduction activities made a majorcontribution. But run-of-the-millefforts would not have taken us any-where near the targets. Therefore, itwas critical to take a more com-prehensive, global approach to costreduction activities. With that inmind, the team launched the globalCost Reduction Committee.

The committee’s work was not con-fined to curbing the cost of pur-chased components and in-housecomponents; rather, the committeeturned its attention to all elements ofcost, going as far as reviewing such

Cost Reduction Steps

items as logistics. Further, the com-mittee tasked regional subcommitteeswith tackling the main cost items ofparticular functions in their region.While production bases around theworld moved forward with simultane-ous development, we set challengingcost benchmarks based on the lowestcost among the respective regions.Needless to say, we also had to main-tain high quality.

In response, we made costs “visi-ble” through deep, painstaking analy-sis of cost composition. For example,we would examine an in-house com-ponent in relation to line capacityusage rates, production volume,usage with other components, pro-duction equipment depreciation, andlabor costs. The cumulative effect ofsuch unglamorous efforts was thatcost targets thought of as unreach-able became feasible. One of the par-ticipants in the cost reduction activi-ties recalls, “When you set aboutreducing cost beyond a certain mag-nitude, minor adjustments are no

The Latest Camry Sets New Benchmarks in the Reduction of Global Development Costs

Mark BoireGeneral Manager, Production Engineering, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

In my role on the North American Cost Reduction Committee, I was responsible for overall cost reductionactivities for the new-model Camry. In the past, it was difficult for the design department at Toyota’s headoffice in Japan to “see” the costs of the North American production side. To make those costs more visible,we formed subcommittees tasked with tackling the main cost items of a particular function, such asengine, power transmission, and chassis. My mission was not only to oversee those subcommittees butalso to convey the cost reduction ideas of the subcommittees to the design department at the head officeand to work with the design department to realize those ideas. Our achievements will likely become thenew benchmarks for cost reduction activities in our global development of vehicles.

Global Cost Reduction Initiative

Eleven subcommittees tasked with examining cost reductions for specific cost items

Vehicle body design

Engine design Drivetraindesign Chassis design Purchasing

Production Distribution cost

Developmentcost Free repair cost Sales

Electronics engineering design

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longer enough. It then becomes aprovocative challenge; you becomedetermined to clear that target nomatter what.”

A Strong Start for the New CamryThe full remodeling of the Camrystrengthened its brand power andrevolutionized the way Toyota buildscars. “Despite facing numerous diffi-culties, Toyota and Team Camry cre-ated a car that more than lived up totheir expectations,” CE Kenichiro Fusesurmises.

Sales of the new Camry made apromising start following its much-anticipated launch at the beginningof 2006. In the U.S. market, in accor-dance with plans, existing Camryowners welcomed the new modelwhile the percentage of young cus-tomers among buyers jumped from17% to 26%. These figures clearlyshow that Team Camry hit its mark.Customer feedback has been enthu-siastic, including comments like “theV6 engine gives exciting performance,”

The Camry’s Future

“the brakes are outstanding,” and“although the styling is sharp, thecabin is spacious and comfortable.”

Furthermore, May 2006 saw thelong-awaited marketing of theCamry Hybrid in North America.Nothing signals Toyota’s unbendingcommitment to popularizing hybridsas mainstream eco cars more clearlythan the development of a hybridmodel of the best-selling passengercar in the United States. Realizingoutstanding driving performanceand the environmental performanceof a compact car, the hybrid notonly opens up a new future for theCamry, it will also significantly bene-fit the global environment. As thefirst hybrid to be built in the UnitedStates, it also represents a milestonefor our localizing efforts.

Focusing on Offering Reliable Quality

Vinnie VenugopalGeneral 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 tobe incorporated in drawings. Our Quality Engineering team checked and confirmed more than 17,000technical 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 ofour team members, but also the dedication to meet customers’ expectations.

Simultaneously realizing sharp dynamicstyling and a spacious comfortable cabinspace, the new-model Camry continuesto win high acclaim in the mainstayNorth American market.

May 2006 saw the unveiling of theCamry Hybrid in North America. We aimto harness the unique acceleration andunmatched environmental performanceof hybrid vehicles to swell the ranks ofCamry fans.

The Camry Challenge —Simultaneous Worldwide Start-Up—

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The construction of our Russian plantin St. Petersburg is under way, withDecember 2007 slated for productionstart-up.

In May 2006, the Camry began rollingoff the line at a newly constructed plantin Guangzhou, China.

In step with its accelerating worldwide development, Toyota is decisively

moving forward with localization. Focusing particularly on production

activities, which can make significant contributions to local economies,

we are building new plants and increasing the production capacities of

existing plants. The Camry typifies this trend. In May 2006, we started

production of the new Camry in China at a new plant, Guangzhou

Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., with an annual production capacity of 100,000

vehicles. Moreover, the construction of a new plant scheduled to come

onstream in December 2007 is under way in St. Petersburg, Russia. Our

aim is to entrench the Camry’s standing as a global car through the

development of a production network that is more deeply rooted in local

communities.

For our other core global models, which are thriving in markets

worldwide alongside the Camry, we are embarking on new ventures to

fulfill their different missions. Adding to production in Japan and

France, we began building the Yaris in Thailand from January 2006. The

Yaris is already a perennial favorite in Japan and Europe. Also, we have

slated the Corolla for remodeling. Because the Corolla has more model

types and production bases than the Camry, development and produc-

tion preparation call for measures that are even more meticulous and

innovative.

Wider, Deeper, Worldwide

Camry YarisCorolla Hilux VIGO, IMV Series

Core Global Models

27

The new Camry development project took on the daunting tasks of pursuingthe commitments to global best, local best and achieving the simultaneousworldwide start-up of production, and the fruits of those efforts are steadilyemerging. Now, as it heads for new horizons, Toyota is taking up new chal-lenges in the global rollout of its automotive operations.