Over the last six months shares of Toyota Motor are up 16%. During the same period shares of Tesla are down 22%.
There are many reasons. People are down on electric cars, and Toyota makes hybrids. Toyota has plans for electrics that cost less than Tesla and go further on a charge. Elon Musk has gone fully looney.
But there’s another reason. Watch what happens when something goes wrong.
When this happens at Tesla, they either send a “software update” (which costs nothing) or pretend it’s not happening. When Toyotas break, they fix it.
I was reminded of this today when Toyota issued a recall notice on Takata airbags sold with its old Corollas.
My daughter has a 2003 Corolla. Long story. The Corolla has never had an accident. I thought, maybe she’ll have to drive it to the dealer.
No. Toyota wants her to park it, register it with them, and then they’ll send out a repair crew. This is a 21 year old car. They’re acting like we just bought it.
Things aren’t perfect at Toyota. There are problems with the Motor subsidiary, and Daihatsu was shut down over safety. But Toyota remains the world’s leading carmaker, for the fourth year running. It has the best reputation among car brands.
You build a reputation over time and can lose it all at once. Whether you lose it depends on what you do in times of trouble. I’ve owned Toyotas for 3 decades now and wouldn’t buy anything else. There’s a lesson here.
