TOYOTA OPENS APPLE'S MIND TO THE CAR INDUSTRY
The president of Toyota opens Apple's mind up to the realities of the car business.
Both Apple and Toyota are manufacturing companies that need no introduction. Both are, quite frankly, at the top of their respective industries, but what the president of Toyota has said to Apple – and more indirectly to Tim Cook – has made thousands of Apple fans realise what the realities are of Apple making their own cars.
The issue is not a question of whether or not Apple is capable of making their own car, as no one would even question that. Rather, it's how Apple is run as a company and what they have been specialising in over the last 50 years.
During a conference at the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association, the president of Toyota brought up his thoughts on Apple developing their own car. He had this to say: "Anyone can make a car if they have the technical ability. But, once they make a car, I hope they’ll recognise they have to steel themselves for 40 years of responding to customers and to various changes.
Technology companies entering the car industry means that the car industry has a future, and choices for customers will widen. We welcome new entries, but I don’t think it would be fair for those people who are newly entering to say, ‘We don’t need to steel ourselves for 40 years, and you other folks who have been around for many years, you do that.'"
If you think about it, Apple and other tech companies alike, make products on a yearly bases. Car makers do this as well, but the biggest difference is customer service and parts. Someone who owns an iPhone 3G will have a terrible time calling around at the local iStores for replacement parts. But, if you take a car that was released around the same time as the iPhone 3G, say a 2009 Toyota Corolla, a customer could simply book his car in for a service and Toyota can supply the replacement parts for their old products.
In summary, the president of Toyota is warning the entire tech industry who are investing in car manufacturing, that releasing just a one-year model of car is likely a 40-year-long commitment to the company, and he stresses that tech companies don't take this seriously enough.
Take a look at the video below by YouTube channel, Later Clips, on Toyota President Warns Apple.
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