Motoring the Future: VW and Toyota Vying for Pole Position

Motoring the Future: VW and Toyota Vying for Pole Position deals with the challenges facing the global car industry today, analyzing Volkswagen and Toyota, with some surprising results. The book provides insights into each car manufacturer's corporate culture, products, production, leadership and technologies, as well as some thoughts on the future of the car.

These two opponents vying for pole position could hardly be more different: Toyota, with a focus on manufacturing excellence, is dominant in its home market, the USA and south-east Asia, whereas VW, with its strategy of product excellence, leads in western Europe, Brazil and China. Industrial dominance will be important to them in the future, with both companies needing to master the next steps in product and manufacturing excellence. The race is by no means over, offering a deep insight into the challenges for carmakers moving away from fossil fueled combustion to alternative energy vehicles for the mass market. Major players are trying to answer the key question: How will the car of the future look?

VW and Toyota now need to keep ambitious competitors at bay. Timing is everything: US manufacturers are focused on their own revival; Korean and Chinese players are progressing surprisingly fast. However, it looks like the battle for pole position will likely remain between Toyota and VW.

Motoring the Future offers updates on Volkswagen's and Toyota's next generation vehicles, both plotting a new course into the future. In this thoroughly revised edition the book, new facts and material have extended the scope to American manufacturers and to new competitors from the Far East.