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Toyota Hybrid Cars and Legal Issues

In: Business and Management

Submitted By rtolen3090
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Pages 11
Toyota Hybrid Cars and Legal Issues
Introduction

Automobile industry is a faster growing industry nowadays than any other industry. Most car manufacturers face the challenge of providing the best quality products to remain competitive to retain or regain market share during this tough economic times. Every organization has the opportunity to make more profit than their competitors do by improving delivery method and its impact on the company’s turnover. Toyota Corporation has implemented different plans and techniques to remain competitive and make profit. One of the innovative plans Toyota Corp. created is the Prius. The Prius brought about a major revolution in car manufacturing industry, and opened a place in the market for hybrid vehicles.

Although Toyota experiences worldwide successes, they are constantly under the watch full eyes of the general public and the government because of the many serious allegations and lawsuits brought against the Company. This paper will examine the first mover advantage of Toyota got by launching Prius. The initiatives undertaken by Toyota to bring their environmental friendly hybrid into the market will be discussed. Additionally, we will point out the many legal issues Toyota currently facing in the marketing environment. These issues will be analyzed and discussed in further detail such as: (1) intellectual property protection; (2) the legal and business concepts of ethics; (3) and the product liabilities and warranties of the company.

Background

In 1957, Toyota Motor Corporation introduced its first vehicle to the American market, Toyopet Crown (Valdes, 2010). The small, fuel efficient vehicle had seen much success in Japan, but did not do well in the U.S. market. Toyota found an opportunity to re-enter the U.S. marketplace during the fuel shortage of the 1970's (Careforest.com. 2010).

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