Question 5: Can the Brand survive next decade? If yes, then what is their sustainability plan?

Answer:
The history of Toyota started in 1933 with the company being a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom
Works devoted to the production of cars. On the other hand General Motors Company was formed on
September 16, 1908.

The latest brand ranking of Toyota and General Motors are as follows:
Ranking of Ranking of
Rankings where listed Year
Toyota General Motors
Fortune Global 500 (100)
2018 6 21
By Fortune
Global Top 100 Brand Corporations
2018 26 68
By European Brand Institute - Vienna
* Source: https://www.rankingthebrands.com/Brand-detail.aspx?brandID=13

This is a list of the 15 largest automobile manufacturers by production in 2016.

% to total No of Vehicles
Rank Group Country No of Vehicles Manufactured
Manufactured
1 Toyota Japan 10,213,486 10.75%
2 Volkswagen Group Germany 10,126,281 10.66%
3 Hyundai South Korea 7,889,538 8.31%
4 General Motors United States 7,793,066 8.21%
5 Ford United States 6,429,485 6.77%
44.70%
6 Nissan Japan 5,556,241 5.85%
7 Honda Japan 4,999,266 5.26%
Fiat Chrysler
8 Automobiles Italy / United States 4,681,457 4.93%
9 Renault France 3,373,278 3.55%
10 PSA France 3,152,787 3.32%
11 Suzuki Japan 2,945,295 3.10%
12 SAIC China 2,566,793 2.70%
13 Daimler Germany 2,526,450 2.66%
14 BMW Germany 2,359,756 2.48%
15 Changan China 1,715,871 1.81%
80.36%
* Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry#By_manufacturer

From the above, it is highly likely that this Brands Toyota and General Motors will survive not only
next decade but also more years beyond.

Sustainability Plan of Toyota:

Toyota Global Vision

Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives around the world with the safest and
most responsible ways of moving people. Through their commitment to quality, constant innovation
and respect for the planet, we aim to exceed expectations and be rewarded with a smile. We will meet
challenging goals by engaging the talent and passion of people, who believe there is always a better
way.

The Tree Metaphor

The image of a tree has been used to symbolize the Toyota Vision from ‘roots to fruits’. The tree is a
symbol of natural strength. It is useful and long-lasting, something that continues to grow and flourish
year after year.

The Toyota principles are represented as the roots because everything they do as a company must
grow from the foundation of their beliefs. These roots support the trunk of the tree, which signifies the
strength and stability of their operations.

From the trunk, the branches lead to the 12 tenets that make up the Toyota vision - the ‘fruits’ of the
tree. The tree allows all of this imagery to be connected together, a metaphor for how closely they at
Toyota work together to achieve success.

Finally, the tree is set in a human environment, to remind us of who they work for - their customers.
The backdrop is universal, to represent their customers across the globe.

Guiding Principles at Toyota

1. Honor the language and spirit of the law of every nation and undertake open and fair business
activities to be a good corporate citizen of the world.
2. Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and social
development through corporate activities in their respective communities.
3. Dedicate their business to providing clean and safe products and to enhancing the quality of
life everywhere through all of their activities.
4. Create and develop advanced technologies and provide outstanding products and services that
fulfill the needs of customers worldwide.
5. Foster a corporate culture that enhances both individual creativity and the value of
teamwork, while honoring mutual trust and respect between labor and management.
6. Pursue growth through harmony with the global community via innovative management.
7. Work with business partners in research and manufacture to achieve stable, long-term growth
and mutual benefits, while keeping themselves open to new partnerships.

Activities within the Company

 Compliance with Laws and Regulations- With sound social norms in mind
 Use and Management of Assets and Confidential Matters- Ensuring asset maintenance and
confidentiality management
 Insider Trading- Act as an investor with sound common sense
  Activities Promoting Safety- Enhancing vehicle safety
 Environmental Preservation Activities- Building environmentally and people friendly vehicles
 Research and Development Activities- Developing vehicles from the standpoint of their
customers
 Procurement Activities- Reasonable and sincere transactions
 Production and Distribution Activities- Building vehicles that win customer trust and faith
 Sales Activities- Winning the trust of customers and dealers
 Overseas Business Activities- o become a global company trusted worldwide
 Profitability Enhancement Activities- Building a stronger profit foundation

Activities outside the Company

 Corporate Communication Activities- Communicating facts in an accurate and timely fashion
and Being Open and Fair
 Philanthropy and Community Relations- Becoming a corporate citizen trusted by international
society
 Shareholder Relations- Respect for shareholders’ benefit
 Government Relations- Maintaining proper and transparent relations
 Political and Religious Activities- Moderate participation
 Traffic Safety Education Activities- Improve traffic safety awareness of society as a whole
 Disaster Prevention and Crime Prevention Activities- Creation of a safe society

Sustainability Plan of General Motors:

General Motors’ sustainability strategy is synonymous with its business strategy. Their vision for
personal mobility is a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. By delivering
safer, simpler and sustainable transportation solutions for their customers, they will execute that
vision. In the process, GM will become the most valued automotive company. Their strategy reflects
the transportation revolution underway today, and that is transforming how people move—an effect
similar to the debut of the automobile more than a century ago.

Strategy Integration
They integrate sustainability into their business through GM’s five corporate strategic priorities, using
business levers such as technology, corporate governance and operational excellence, as shown in the
graphic below. This process creates positive benefits for their stakeholders, drives long-term success
for GM and enables each employee at every level of their company to help build value for the
customer. Their work is grounded in their values, with the customer as their compass to guide
decisions, with strong and transparent stakeholder relationships, and with excellence as their standard.
Vision of General Motors:
They are committed to safety in everything they do, they earn customers for life, they build brands that
inspire passion and loyalty they translate breakthrough technologies into vehicles and experiences that
people love, they create sustainable solutions that improve the communities in which they live and
work.

Their strategic sustainable plan can be divided based on impact on Customers, Safety, Products,
Personal Mobility, Supply Chain , Talent, Governance & Ethics, Operations and Community -
Impact on Aspiration Actions taken by GM
 Recognize Dealer Excellence
 Serve Customers Quicker
 Provide Fleet Solutions
Earn Customers for
Customers  Strive for Zero Defects
Life
 Build Quality Throughout Operations
 Enlist Students to Accelerate Innovation
 Go Above and Beyond for Customers
 Think Beyond the Vehicle:
 Expand Deployment of New Technologies
 Help Teens Hit the Road Safely
Zero Crashes and Zero  Pioneer V2V Technologies
Safety
Workplace Injuries  Extend Safety to Cyberspace
 Reinforce a Companywide Safety Culture
 Engage With Regulatory Stakeholders
 Design and Test Safe Infotainment Systems
 Deliver America’s Favorite Electric Vehicle: The
Chevrolet Bolt EV(Electric Vehicle)
 Drive EV Demand Through Marketing
 Maximize EV Battery Life
 Leverage Electrification in
Products Zero Emissions
 Traditional Vehicles
 Grow EVs in China
 Promote Efficient Fundamentals
 Lead the Next Generation of Lightweighting
 Collaborate to Advance Alternative Energy
 Provide Connectivity for Fleet Customers
 Redefine Car Sharing With Maven
 Utilize Maven to Enhance EV Awareness
Personal Mobility Zero Congestion  Solutions for Cities
 Scale Production of Autonomous Vehicles
 Lead the Industry With Intelligent Vehicles
 Align and Optimize Cyber security Management
 Help Eradicate Forced Labor
 Honor Suppliers for Innovation, Quality and
Dedication
 Commit to Sustainable Natural Rubber for Tires
 Set Industry Standards for Suppliers
Positive Environmental  Build Strong Supplier Relationships
Supply Chain
& Social Impact  Spur Innovation Within Their Supply Base
 Continuously Improve Supplier Audits
 Engage Suppliers Through CDP
 Manage Raw Material Supply Chain Risks
 Gain Visibility Into an Interconnected
 Supply Chain
Talent Realize Everyone’s  Promote Employee Wellness and Balance
 Potential  Enlist ERGs to Create Business Value
 Empower Women to Lead
 Encourage STEM Reentry
 Share Wisdom From Powerful Women
 Help Professionals Re-launch Their Careers
 Recognize Others for a Job Well Done
 Support Employees at Every Career Stage
 Attract and Keep Top Talent
 Their vision, core values and seven core behaviors
serve as GM’s roadmap for sustainability.
 GM’s Code of Conduct, Winning with Integrity, sets
their expectations for ethical behavior, applies to every
Full Transparency & level of the company and includes expectations for
Governance & Ethics
Integrity–Always suppliers and contracted parties who work on behalf of
GM.
 Annual Code of Conduct certification and compliance
is required of all salaried employees, 100 percent of
whom complied in 2017
 GM’s Environmental Principles and environmental
management system are the foundation for optimizing
the environmental footprint of their operations.
 Since 2010, we have been measuring their progress
against a set of 2020 manufacturing commitments,
Positive Environmental having achieved five to date.
Operations
& Social Impact  We measure and manage resource use across their
value chain to drive business efficiencies and conserve
natural resources.
 While their facilities vary widely in function and size,
their resource management strategy is applied on a
consistent basis.
 Introduce New STEM Partnerships
 Engage Students in Autonomous Vehicle
Development
 Foster Children’s Creativity Year-Round
 Support STEM Students in Their Hometown
Community
Safe, Smart &
 Celebrate Five Years of Enhancing Communities and
Community Sustainable
Changing Lives
Communities
 Use Surplus Materials to Build a New Kind of
Neighborhood
 Bring Sustainability to Employees’ Backyards
 Promote Education for Youth Across China
 Help Kids in China Ride Safe
 Connect Their Brands to Causes That Matter

A Comparison of Sustainability Branding between Toyota and General Motors based on Martin
Belz concept to “8 C’s”
Sustainability branding is the process of creating and maintaining an identity of a specific product,
service, or business that reflects special added value in terms of environmental and social benefits. A
brand is only perceived as being sustainable if it can credibly convey sustainability benefits which are
noticeable by and relevant to the consumer. A sustainability brand must have an integrated culture for
success. The key to a sustainable brand is trust between the consumer and the brand, only when this is
achieved can a sustainable brand truly generate a USP and reap the benefits of it.
Sustainability Brand Positioning and positioning in general is part of the brand identity and value
proposition that is to be actively communicated to the target audience and can be described as an
iterative process, consisting of deliberate and proactive actions aimed at the definition of distinct
consumer perceptions. Sustainable brand positioning is the brand positioning of Sustainable products
and services.

To build up and position strong sustainability brands, there are some guidelines to follow. Among
others Martin Belz complemented and revised this concept to “8 C’s” of sustainability branding and
based on this 8 C’s we would like to make a comparison between two brands Toyota and General
Motors.

Here 04 scales has been fixed in consistent with the factors- 1. Highly Likely, 2. Likely, 3. Unlikely
and 4. Highly Unlikely
General
Sustainability
Short Description Toyota Motors Remarks
Factor
(GM)
Sustainability should be tied up to the key Both the Brands have
problems and the core business through been assessing the
assessing the socio-ecological impacts of Highly Highly socio-ecological
Core
products along the entire life-cycle of the Likely Likely impacts of their
products and finding out the socio-ecological respective products
“hot-spots” of the product-life-cycle efficiently.
The solutions to the main socio-ecological In respect of
problems associated with products along the innovation and
entire life cycle require - both in the process marketing of
of innovating and marketing sustainable Highly sustainable products
Co-operative Likely
products and services - co-operations with Likely globally, Toyota
suppliers, retailers, consumers, scientists, and seems to be front
other non-market actors (e.g. NGO’s). runner compare to
GM
Fundamentals of credibility are first the
solving of key socio-ecological problems Both Toyota and GM
associated with companies’ products and motors have their
second tying sustainability to the core own global customer
business. Co-operations with trustworthy base with different
partners and the use of independent, third- Highly Highly expectation, which
Credible
party labels (e.g. labels like Bio or MSC) Likely Likely gives them
such as a high level of transparency (e.g. competitive
through an online tracking system, which advantages towards
enables consumers to see the world of behind achievement of
the product) can additionally increase the credibility.
credibility of sustainability brands.
Socio-ecological characteristics or attributes Toyota seem to be
of products usually just play an auxiliary role slightly ahead of GM
(no core benefits). To broaden the appeal of in Terms of
sustainability brands, the companies should consumer benefits of
emphasize the inherent consumer benefits of socio-ecological
socio-ecological attributes, including attributes, including
Consumer efficiency and cost effectiveness, health and Highly efficiency and cost
Likely
Benefits safety, symbolism and status. Further they Likely effectiveness, health
should align socio-ecological attributes with and safety,
benefits such as functionality, design, and symbolism and status.
durability to create “motive alliances”. Further they should
align socio-ecological
attributes with
benefits such as
 functionality, design,
and durability to
create “motive
alliances”
Sustainability branding is more effective as a
two-way conversation, rather than a one-way Both the companies
Highly Highly
Conversational announcement. Inviting consumers to enter have strong brand-
Likely Likely
into dialogues about the sustainability process consumer relationship
strengthens the brand-consumer relationship.
If sustainability is key to brand positioning, It is apparent that
this requires a kind of integrated approach to both are well known
sustainability communication: it is important Brand around the
to communicate in a consistent way, globe and their
Highly Highly
Consistency including e.g. advertising, personal selling or communication is
Likely Likely
online communication. In addition to that, the consistent with the
sustainability product brand has to be overall environmental
consistent with the overall environmental and and social
social performance of the company. performance
Sustainability branding not only requires the Top management and
commitment of the PR department and the marketing decision
sustainability officers but also requires the makers of both
Highly Highly
Commitment commitment of top management and companies are
Likely Likely
marketing decision makers. committed towards
Sustainability
branding.
Sustainability must reflect the core values of With almost 100
the brand and contribute to delivering the years in the
brand promise over the long term. This automobile market it
means that a brand cannot change its is beyond any doubt
Highly Highly
Continuity sustainability focus too often, or engage in that these Brand are
Likely Likely
too many non-related areas. continuously
delivering the brand
promise over the long
term