Toyota concerned about Detroit rivals

Toyota is now well-recognized as the world’s biggest and most profitable carmaker but even it cannot afford to see its closest rivals go out of business. Given the tightly interlinked ties between carmakers, suppliers and regulators, even if one major company goes under it could spell serious trouble for the others.

This is a problem that Toyota is well aware off. This month the carmaker announced its first profit drop in nine years, revealing a 39% decline in income for its global operations this past quarter and a 98.9% drop for its North American operations. Speaking with the The Detroit News, Toyota’s senior vice president in charge of engineering and manufacturing for North America, Steve St. Angelo, said that the failure of one of the Detroit 3 carmakers would be devastating for his company.

"We want everyone to succeed," he told reporters. "Competition is good for us. The customers are the big winners, because it makes all of us better." Angelo’s reasoning is that Toyota depends on many of the same companies that provide parts to its American rivals. He also added that the economy in general is more prosperous when the Detroit 3 are healthy.

Toyota is even pushing the limits of U.S. anti-trust rules to help the Detroit 3, often letting its competitors visit its plants.