World's most profitable carmaker Toyota Motor Corp on Monday acknowledged the rising quality consciousness in Indian manufacturing.
Toyota said Japanese companies could soon be playing catch-up in quality sweepstakes.
Toyota Chairman Okuda Hiroshi said Indian and Thai companies were the strongest contenders for the Deming Prize, somewhat akin to the Oscars in manufacturing quality instituted by Union of Japanese Scientists & Engineers.
Of the six Deming laureates last year, when Hiroshi headed the awards committee, three -- Indo Gulf Fertiliser, Lucas-TVS and SRF Ltd -- were Indian and the other three from Thailand.
In contrast, not even a single Japanese company was in contention.
Hiroshi cautioned Japanese companies that the day was not far when they will be left behind in the race for producing quality products.
"Japanese companies are not showing interest in the Deming prize. We are standing still. (At this rate), Thai and Indian companies will overtake Japan in quality," he said.
Speaking at a luncheon meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Hiroshi, who is also the chairman of Nippon Keidanren, CII's counterpart in Japan, said there were plenty of opportunities for the two countries to work together.
Speaking about his company, Hiroshi said the secret to Toyota's emergence as the world's most profitable car company lay in its ability to produce quality cars at the least cost.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor vice-chairman Vikram Kirloskar said the fastest implementation in any Toyota plant globally was at its Indian joint venture's unit in Bidadi, near Bangalore, where the first vehicle rolled out within 18 months of the project commencement.
