Reuters has updated their original story on the 2013 Lexus ES production launch with a quote from Toyota president Akio Toyoda:
“Lexus becomes a product only after the Japanese craftsmanship and technologies are applied, so that’s why I want to stick to it being from Japan,” said Toyota President Akio Toyoda.
“But our basic philosophy is to make products where there is demand…We may have to shift some production abroad in areas that will continue to grow. But I still believe that keeping a certain level of production in Japan will enable us to catch up to and lead the growth of the global automotive industry,” he told a group of reporters after a ceremony marking the ES production launch.
While Toyoda-san’s comments explain the company’s reluctance to shift manufacturing out of Japan, it’s also a softer stance on the issue than originally reported by Reuters — in fact, there was a revision in the article to one of the key quotes from Kazuo Ohara, executive vice president of Lexus International:
“Our policy is to protect manufacturing in Japan as much as possible for as long as possible,” Ohara said.
was changed to:
“Our policy is to protect manufacturing in Japan as much as possible for as long as possible,” Ohara told reporters, but added that the 80 yen level is still tough for Lexus.
The revision may be minor, but it also alters Ohara’s statement — seems weird how Reuters would modify an article like this without highlighting the changes.
(Related: Response.jp was on-hand at the ES Line Off ceremony and has plenty of photos from the event — here’s link one, link two & link three.)
[Source: Reuters]
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