Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTKarl FurlongThu, July 16, 2026 at 2:03 AM GMT+2 4 min readKoji Sato, Toyota's chief industry officer, has urged Japan's major automakers to collaborate more closely as competition from Chinese automakers intensifies. Sato, who is also chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), believes that combining resources can reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and help Japanese automakers become more sustainable as China rapidly reshapes the automotive landscape.While Sato did not go as far as to propose shared vehicle designs or mergers, he recommended sharing manufacturing standards and standardizing commodity components like certain plastics. By doing so, Japanese carmakers can free engineers and capital to concentrate on developing new batteries, software, and associated technologies.Sato's view indicates that even giants like Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) must rethink traditional models to remain globally competitive.Sato's action plan focuses on parts standardizationSato's strategy involves standardizing a list of commodity components across Japan's seven major automakers. These components include steel grades, plastics, and wire harnesses. The former Toyota CEO says standardizing wire harnesses alone could improve productivity tenfold.As things stand now, an enormous supply base must produce parts with a wide range of specifications for Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki. Suppliers have to make about 70,000 wire harnesses alone, indicating the enormous complexity in the current supply chain.More Automotive: