In the late 1970s, the Japanese car giant Toyota moved aggressively into the United States, snatching market share from domestic manufacturers and establishing a loyal consumer following which endures to this day.
More than two decades later, the world's number three auto producer is stepping up efforts to reproduce some of this North American magic in Europe - a market in which the Japanese have traditionally failed to make their mark.
Over the next five years, Toyota plans to increase its market share in Europe to five percent, ramping up annual sales in the region to around 800,000 cars, half of which it expects to produce locally.
This five percent target pales in comparison to the 18 percent market share Toyota currently enjoys in the United States and the whopping 41 percent share in its home market.
But in a highly competitive and fragmented market, it would represent a first bold step into the European big leagues by a Japanese company.
"To get to that five percent market share threshold and pass it you have to be a serious player," said John Wormald, partner at automotive consulting firm Autopolis.
In 1999, Japanese manufacturers registered sales of only 1.73 million cars in Europe, a combined 11.5 percent market share and roughly the same amount of units that U.S. auto giants General Motors and Ford each sold on their own, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
And Toyota had a market share of only 3.2 percent for the year, up marginally from the 3.0 percent figure registered in 1998.
This year, however, Toyota's efforts in Europe appear to be paying off.
Sales on the rise
In the first six months of 2000, ACEA figures show that Toyota's European sales surged 24 percent to 299,519 units - a 3.6 percent market share and a growth rate that far outstripped all major competitors.
Fuelling this success has been Toyota's first car designed with the European market in mind - the Yaris.
Starting early next year, Toyota will begin production of the mini-compact model, voted European car of the year for 2000, at a new factory in Valenciennes, France.
And by the end of 2000, Toyota will have thrown some 13 new car models, including the Yaris and its cousin the Yaris Verso, at its European dealerships over a two year period.
If Toyota's European offensive succeeds, industry experts say the companies that currently dominate the European market - Volkswagen, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Fiat - may be forced to stand up and take notice of a Japanese manufacturer for the first time.
"I saw what Toyota did in the United States and they're fully capable of coming in, dominating an industry and putting other companies under pressure," said James Collins, European auto analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
Toyota's reputation for quality and engineering is revered in the industry. Their speed to market is unrivalled - the company averages around 18 months to develop a new car platform versus an industry average which is almost double that time.
Import quotas, which limited the number of Japan-built cars that Japanese manufacturers could sell in Europe, indirectly, curbed Toyota's European reach in the past. At the end of 1999 those quotas were scrapped, giving way to more equal opportunities for Toyota and other Japanese carmakers in Europe.
Formidable obstacles
Toyota faces major obstacles - both internal and external - in its bid to become a top player in Europe. Most significant, perhaps, is the challenge Toyota faces as a relative outsider, competing against better known, domestic brands which have an established and loyal customer-base.
On a more fundamental level, some observers question Toyota's commitment to designing and producing a full range of cars that meet the needs of the European consumer.
The company did open a new European design facility on the Cote d'Azur earlier this year. But at present, apart from the Yaris and the Yaris Verso, the product line is viewed as decidedly non-European.
"They don't have a full line and family look, nor the brand which their European competitors can play off," Wormald added.
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