[DigitalToday reporter Hyunwoo Choo] Toyota is warning of a crisis in the auto industry and is moving to relax production standards. At a recent supplier meeting, Toyota CEO Koji Sato (코지 사토) said, "We cannot survive like this," expressing a strong sense of urgency.

On March 27 local time, Automotive News reported that Sato stressed, "We are now fighting for survival." If even Toyota feels a sense of crisis, serious changes are being detected across the broader auto industry.

The problem is not simply production disruptions. Chinese automakers are rapidly rising and lowering manufacturing costs, and software has become a core element of vehicles. With tariff issues also overlapping, the auto industry is being swept into a vortex of rapid change. Sato said, "An even tougher fight is expected ahead," and stressed that overall productivity must be improved.

Toyota plans to introduce a "smart standard" initiative to cut costs by easing its existing strict quality standards. In the past, it scrapped parts even for minor cosmetic defects, but it plans to relax standards for parts customers do not see.

Toyota purchasing executive Shoji Nishihara (쇼지 니시하라) explained the need for the new standards, saying, "The average customer does not even see these parts." Toyota also plans to reduce the molds and tooling that parts suppliers must maintain.

Meanwhile, CFO Kenta Kon (켄타 콘), who will become CEO on April 1, also shared the sense of crisis, saying, "Toyota is still not stable." He said, "We must restore competitiveness and revive Toyota's strengths," and presented cost cuts and stronger production efficiency as the top priorities.