When Frank Marotte, CEO of Toyota France, answered the phone last Friday, he was the only person physically present at the group’s headquarters in Vaucresson (Hauts-de-Seine). Typically 300 people work there. Before hosting a videoconference with the Japanese brand’s dealers to prepare for the reopening of the network, on May 11, he returned to the place of the automobile in the hearts of the French, the fall of the market, the acceleration of sales. on the Internet and the questioning of our model of society. Interview.
Le Point: Are we going to witness the revenge of the automobile?
© DR
–Frank Marotte: We are seeing more than ever how mobility is a pillar of freedom for people. The automobile was born as a vector of individual freedom. It is likely that, for a certain number of people, the overcrowding inherent in public transport has become too anxiety-provoking and that they abandon it.
With the crisis, the need for freedom comes out reinforced. We can imagine having new customers who have turned away from the automobile and who will come back to us. For individuals, the average age was close to 60 in automobile purchases. However, a whole section of younger customers will certainly be inclined to return to the car. But on two conditions: respect for the environment with electrified vehicles (hybrid, battery, hydrogen) and affordability, with a monthly payment of a level comparable to a subscription to public transport.
Can we imagine “new car subscriptions” at 75 euros per month like a Navigo pass for public transport in Ile-de-France?
You can already buy your new car by paying in monthly installments. What we are going to add in order to reduce the anxiety of potential customers is to postpone the first payments. We are currently thinking of financing methods which would consist of taking possession of his vehicle in June, but only starting to pay from 2021.
This year 2020 symbolizes the massive arrival of electric models. Isn’t the crisis likely to curb consumers’ ecological aspirations?
Some consumers may be turning away from ecology. For many others, this crisis is indicative of a problem with the model of society which ends up endangering our species. So this will reinforce the need to return to more virtuous practices, including with regard to automobile consumption. So I don’t think it’s a drag.
On the other hand, the problem with battery or hydrogen electric vehicles is that they remain expensive because of the cost of the technology. When you tackle a new clientele, which is used to taking public transport, you may still be too offbeat with this type of offer. Toyota’s hybrid technology, developed over 20 years ago, can meet demand, as it is comparable in price to a thermal diesel vehicle. We thus offer an electrified automobile with the new Yaris Hybrid which, in town, can run up to 80% of the time in electric mode and this at a very competitive price.
Read also Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid: French by destination
How has Toyota been affected by the fall in the French market?
It is an unprecedented commercial shock which has a very strong impact on us. We have no more customers. The French market made – 72% in March and will plunge by 98% in April. In addition, there was the containment and cessation of commercial activities, with the closure of showrooms. After-sales, legally authorized to continue, had largely to stop due to problems with the supply of spare parts. Only a standby activity was kept for emergency, medical and other vehicles. There was the establishment of partial activity, teleworking, sanitary measures for the head office, the distribution network of 250 dealers and the factory in Valenciennes (Onnaing, in the North), where 4,500 employees work. .
Precisely, where are you at the restart of the Toyota plant in Valenciennes?
The recovery is done in absolute compliance with sanitary conditions and in agreement with a very large majority of unions. Production is still low, with around 1,000 people out of 4,500. Two teams of 1,000 employees will follow one another. The first cars are built this weekend from April 25-26. They must potentially be delivered to our customers from May 11.
Has Toyota converted to Internet sales?
The crisis has been a revealer and an accelerator of development on digitalization. The automotive industry was not far ahead in this area. However, in the United States, very strong on the subject, online sales remain marginal. It has never passed the 10-15% mark for traditional builders. I do not believe that this channel can become the majority.
There are two important physical interactions in the sale: delivery and testing of the vehicle. The trial remains crucial in the purchasing process and in particular to test Toyota’s advanced hybrid technology. It can be done in dealerships, at home or in the office, the terms may change in the future.
How is the reopening of sales in dealerships to be prepared?
The challenge is to respond to a mosaic of varied client profiles, including those we did not know before. On existing stocks, we will have a more aggressive offer in terms of price.
What recovery scenario are you betting on?
There is a model that links the fall in GDP to the evolution of the automobile market. 1 point of lost GDP comes back to 3 lost auto market points. This leads us overall to a fall of 25% this year, a quarter lost. The recovery will be disrupted, including in June, which is traditionally a big month, as customers prepare for summer. It is not until September that normal monthly levels should be found. The catch-up will be done more in 2021. It also depends on the government.
What support plan are you waiting for?
We hope for a government support plan in various forms: with bonuses for ecological conversion, renewal and scrapping. What is certain is that the automobile affects many people. More than 2 million customers for new vehicles, even more with the occasion. It is estimated that the entire automotive ecosystem in the broad sense (insurers, etc.) represents 10% of jobs in France. However, it is customary for a government to revive the economy by the automobile.
It would be anachronistic to take advantage of this crisis to slow down the ecological transition
Does competition look tougher?
The market is in turmoil. The recovery will be significantly delayed with the impossibility of catching up. There will surely be price competition for manufacturers who want to regain market share. But for this crisis, the most violent since the Second World War, the manufacturers suffered a lot and will not necessarily have the means to engage in a price war. At Toyota, this is not our strategy. Especially since we are in good financial health, globally and in France.
In mid-March, Toyota was the first foreign brand in France, with around 6% of market share. We produce many of our cars in France, in Valenciennes. And we have an advantage: in September, we are launching the new Yaris, which represents 40% of our national sales. It is a model made in France, at a time when this concept has taken on many colors. This launch should further strengthen our positions.
What is the position on the CO moratorium2 ?
I do not believe that there is a crisis of the automobile model as such, rather of the model of colonization of the planet by human beings. From this point of view, the automobile must continue the ecological transition. We therefore do not associate ourselves with this request for a moratorium. It would be anachronistic to take advantage of this crisis to slow down the ecological transition. Toyota started 20 years ago making hybrids and we must continue to move towards clean, virtuous and low-carbon mobility.
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