Hattori Etsuo's relationship with Toyota comes more from his China background. His parents were in China during World War II, and 1943 was born in Harbin. He spent his whole adolescence in China, and completed his college course in forestry major of Northeast Forestry University. After graduating from college, I returned to Japan, and Hattori studied for a postgraduate degree at the University of Tokyo. He intended to be a diplomat, but he was disqualified because of his age.
197 1 year, Hattori joined the Institute of Modern Culture, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales Company, responsible for market research including automobile and social relations. However, the first oil crisis followed, and the sudden appreciation of the yen led Toyota to withdraw funds from many subsidiaries. Hattori felt that his job was unstable, so he decided to resign and passed an interview with a trading company. The owner of the college persuaded Hattori to join Toyota Motor Sales Company. The latter is planning the automobile market in Chinese mainland and needs to find a group of pioneers who are familiar with China. Hattori started his trip to Toyota China.
Generally speaking, China automobile industry compares Toyota's strategic love in China market to a "latecomer", while Hattori Etsuo thinks that it is "not too late, but too early, so it should be said that Toyota got up early to catch a late set", while auto business review thinks that Toyota China's current success can be regarded as the result of Toyota's own and Hattori's personal abilities.
Although Hattori doesn't have the general power of the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, what's more, he has never even served as the head of Toyota's business in China, but he has made great contributions to Toyota's performance in China, which can be described as a strategist and diplomat of Toyota China.
explorer
At first, as a recruit, he came into contact with China automobile industry more as the executor or "discoverer" of Toyota's China strategy.
1972 In September, at the invitation of Toyota, the first automobile delegation from China visited Toyota. During the visit, Hattori accompanied the delegation to visit the then 1 1 car company. "I accompanied this delegation to inspect the Toyota Group for a whole month, and spent another half a month to arrange to inspect other Japanese companies such as Nissan and Honda. This is the starting point for the official start of Sino-Japanese automobile industry exchanges. I led China people into Toyota for the first time. " He recalled.
Since then, Toyota has started formal contact with China automobile industry.
1978, a training group of 20 members from FAW Group came to Toyota, and Hattori Etsuo accompanied them for a month and a half. At the end of the same year, a seven-member Toyota delegation also came to Changchun for a return visit, and put forward the diagnosis and transformation plan for Jiefang truck and Hongqi car at that time.
198 1 year, Hattori accompanied Taiyi Ono, the "father of Toyota production mode", to FAW for on-site guidance and established two demonstration production lines. This is the first time that Toyota's "lean production mode" has been introduced to China.
At that time, Toyota was only obsessed with exporting cars to neighboring countries separated by water. 1964, the first Toyota Crown sedan was exported to China. 1978, it put out an advertisement in front of all the car manufacturers in China, saying, "Everything will come naturally, and where there is a road, there will be a Toyota." . Since then, Toyota, Crown and Camry have continuously entered China as high-end official vehicles.
1985, Toyota cooperated with Guangzhou No.1 automobile manufacturing and distribution factory at that time to produce a batch of light trucks with double rows of seats 1.25 tons. Chassis, girder and gearbox are all made in China, and all production models are hung with Toyota logo. Toyota President Toyota Hideki cut the ribbon at the off-line ceremony of 1986. This is Toyota's first production in China.