Toyota chief’s warning to Apple: The car business isn’t easy

A vehicle inside a Toyota Motor Corp dealership in Yokohama, Japan. The automotive industry welcomes new entrants, but Toyoda wants Apple ‘to be prepared to deal with customers and various changes for some 40 years’ after making a vehicle, he said. — Bloomberg

Toyota Motor Corp president Akio Toyoda offered a warning to Apple Inc, which is plotting a foray into the auto industry: There’s more to the business of selling cars than just having the technology to produce them.

The automotive industry welcomes new entrants, “but after making a vehicle, I’d like them to be prepared to deal with customers and various changes for some 40 years,” Toyoda said at a news conference held Thursday by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, where he is the chairman.