Toyota works on customer care lift

BAD news for Toyota’s rivals in Australia – the motor vehicle industry leader is stepping up its efforts to deliver a more rewarding customer experience.

Some of the brand’s Australian dealers have been trekking to Japan on customer care study tours, looking at the way Toyota wins hearts in its domestic market.

A group of seven leading Australian dealers was in Japan this week for such a tour, while also taking time out to look at Toyota’s latest offerings at the Tokyo motor show – including the little SFR concept sports coupe that is set to sit below the super-successful 86 coupe in the Toyota line-up by about 2017.

Toyota Australia executive vice president of sales and marketing, Tony Cramb, told GoAuto that two dealer groups had been on the study tours, including one of more than 20 dealer principals.

He said the effort was linked to Toyota’s plans to ramp up customer service across its dealer network in Australia, to create an industry-leading standard.

The customer service effort comes as Toyota’s designers and engineers are pouring blood, sweat and tears into revving up the staid Toyota and Lexus line-ups, delivering a raft of distinctive new models with uncharacteristic flair and sportiness, while formulating a clearer family styling identity.

The Toyota mantra of continuous improvement is also being applied to the sales and service experience, too, with good ideas being shared across global boundaries.

Toyota dominates Australian motor vehicle sales, with a current market share of 17.3 per cent.

However, that share is down from 18.1 per cent at the same time last year, and 19.6 per cent in 2013.

With the fleet-friendly, Australian-made Camry heading towards its demise in 2018, the company must be aware that it needs to not only halt the market share slide, but also adapt to full-importer status in a hurry.