I used to work at Toyota, so I keep my eye on them for nostalgia’s sake, less and less so these days.
Watanabe’s recent moves to align Toyota with both Isuzu and Subaru are going to be important in the long run.
More experience with diesels will be important as well. Diesel has a horrible image in Japan whereas clean/new tech diesels are all over Europe.
Low-Key Chief Asserts Himself as a Leader at Toyota – New York Times
Diesel was demonized by the outspoken Governor Ishihara, of course, and he did have a point, as far as the soot spewing trucks and cars which were polluting the air were concerned, but he resorted to the sort of gross simplification and sensationalism that he is notorious for.
M-B now has a diesel E-class on sale in Japan now. Both the E-class and the BMW diesels (530d, 330d) I’ve had the opportunity to drive in Europe were really nice to drive, no soot, no clatter, and nearly 40% better fuel efficiency than their petrol brothers, as well as 30% or so more torque….