Toyota wishes its former boss well at Holden

Far from feeling betrayed or dismayed by Dave Buttner’s move to run Holden, a senior executive who reported to him when he was president of Toyota Australia has welcomed the appointment and predicted his former boss can turn Holden around.

Not only that, Toyota Australia marketing and sales chief Sean Hanley says a resurgent Buttner-led Holden would be good for Toyota.

“I can tell you we have no animosity towards Dave,” said Hanley. “One of the pillars of the ‘Toyota way’ is respect and that doesn’t come and go.

“We believe Dave made a strong contribution and we are thankful for that. We think he is a great guy and he will do a great job for his new company.

“He’s a decent, good people person all the way round. They have got a good guy.”

Buttner, 64, has come out of retirement after 30 years at Toyota Australia to become chairman and managing director of Holden at one of the toughest times in its history.

Holden’s market share has collapsed in the wake of last year’s factory closure and the end of local Commodore production, and dealer relations need to be rebuilt and its marketing strategy overhauled.

Buttner retired from the presidency of Toyota Australia having overseen the closure of local manufacturing at Altona. He was a key management player in the rise of the Japanese brand to market domination in Australia in the 2000s.

Hanley said he had no doubt Buttner could deal with the challenges facing Holden.

“I have a deep respect for Dave and I was very close to Dave in the Toyota family, as were all of us,” said Hanley.

“I think he is a tremendous person and he will do a good job for Holden.”

Hanley welcomed the prospect of a tougher and more competitive Holden under Buttner providing stiffer opposition to Toyota in the new-vehicle sales market.

To the end of July Holden sits sixth on the Australian market, while Toyota’s other traditional sales rival, Ford, is fifth.

“Good competition is healthy. Toyota wouldn’t be where it is today if we didn’t strive to be better every time at what we do because we want to be the best.

“The only reason we got there was because of strong competition, particularly in the day from the likes of … Holden and Ford with their big strong market shares.

“That made us vibrant, it inspired us to be stronger and I think that having a healthy industry is good for all of us.

“It would be a good thing to see Holden and Ford rebound and I hope they find strength because that will make us stronger.”

However, Hanley’s endorsement wasn’t without qualifications. For instance, he doubted Buttner could imbue Toyota’s strong culture into Holden -- even with his in-depth understanding of it.

“The Toyota way is steeped in 80 years of history. It can’t be transported out of the company. It’s unique,” said Hanley.

“He’ll have to apply his leadership skills to his new organisation with the cultures he will experience.”