History of Toyota
Encyclopedia
Kiichiro Toyoda
was a Japanese entrepreneur and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to take Toyoda Loom Works into automobile manufacturing would create what would eventually become Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest automobile manufacturer....
. Kiichiro Toyoda had traveled to Europe and the United States in 1929 to investigate automobile production and had begun researching gasoline-powered engines in 1930. Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was encouraged to develop automobile production by the Japanese government, which needed domestic vehicle production, due to the war with China. In 1934, the division produced its first Type A Engine
Toyota Type A engine
The Type A engine was a straight-6 engine produced from 1935 through 1947 by Toyota.The Type B was a technically more advanced version of the Type A.The Type C was a straight-4 engine derived from the Type A....
, which was used in the first Model A1 passenger car in May 1935 and the G1
Toyota G1
The Toyota G1 was the first truck built by the company that became Toyota. It was long, could carry 1.5 tons and was loosely based on similar class Ford and GM trucks....
truck in August 1935. Production of the Model AA
Toyota AA
The A1 was the first prototype passenger car built by the company that became Toyota. It was redesigned and put into production as Toyota's first production cars, the AA sedan and the AB cabriolet...
passenger car started in 1936. Early vehicles bear a striking resemblance to the Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
Power Wagon and Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, with some parts actually interchanging with their American originals.
Although the Toyota Group is best known today for its cars, it is still in the textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
business and still makes automatic loom
Loom
A loom is a device used to weave cloth. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads...
s, which are now computerized, and electric sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
s which are available worldwide.
Toyota Motor Co. was established as an independent and separate company in 1937. Although the founding family's name is Toyoda (豊田), the company name was changed because the name Toyota (トヨタ) is considered to be luckier than Toyoda (豊田) in Japan because eight is regarded as a lucky number, and eight is the number of strokes it takes to write Toyota in katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
. In Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, the company and its vehicles are still referred to by the equivalent characters , with Chinese pronunciation.
During the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
(World War II) the company was dedicated to truck production for the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. Because of severe shortages in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, military trucks were kept as simple as possible. For example, the trucks had only one headlight in the center of the hood. The war ended shortly before a scheduled Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
bombing run on the Toyota factories in Aichi
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :...
.
Toyota SA
The SA was Toyota's first new passenger car design after World War II. It was the first in a family of vehicles before the introduction of the Crown. A series of light trucks also shared the chassis and major components of these passenger cars.All of these vehicles were sold under the Toyopet...
. The company was on the brink of bankruptcy by the end of 1949, but the company eventually obtained a loan from a consortium of banks which stipulated an independent sales operation and elimination of "excess manpower".
In June 1950, the company produced only 300 trucks and was on the verge of going out of business. The management announced layoffs and wage reductions, and in response the union went on a strike that lasted two months. The strike was resolved by an agreement that included layoffs and pay reductions but also the resignation of the president at the time, Kiichiro Toyoda
Kiichiro Toyoda
was a Japanese entrepreneur and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to take Toyoda Loom Works into automobile manufacturing would create what would eventually become Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest automobile manufacturer....
. Toyoda was succeeded by Taizo Ishida, who was the chief executive of the Toyoda Automatic Loom company. The first few months of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
resulted in an order of over 5,000 vehicles from the US military, and the company was revived. Ishida was credited for his focus on investment in equipment. One example was the construction of the Motomachi Plant in 1959, which gave Toyota a decisive lead over Nissan during the 1960s.
In 1950, a separate sales company, Toyota Motor Sales Co., was established (which lasted until July 1982). In April 1956, the Toyopet dealer chain was established. In 1957, the Crown
Toyota Crown
The Toyota Crown is a line of full-size luxury sedans by Toyota. The range was primarily available in Japan and some other Asian countries, originally designed to serve as a taxi...
became the first Japanese car to be exported to the United States and Toyota's American and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian divisions, Toyota Motor Sales Inc. and Toyota do Brasil S.A., were also established.
Toyota began to expand in the 1960s with a new research and development facility, a presence in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
was established, the 10 millionth model was produced, a Deming Prize
Deming Prize
The Deming prize, established in December 1950 in honor of W. Edwards Deming, was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for major advances in quality improvement...
, and partnerships with Hino Motors and Daihatsu were also established. The first Toyota built outside Japan was in April 1963, at Melbourne, Australia. By the end of the decade, Toyota had established a worldwide presence, as the company had exported its one-millionth unit.
With high gas prices and a weak US economy in mid 2008, Toyota reported a double-digit decline in sales for the month of June, similar to figures reported by the Detroit Big Three
Big Three automobile manufacturers
The Big Three, when used in relation to the automotive industry, most generally refers to the three major American automotive companies:Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler...
. For Toyota, these were attributed mainly to slow sales of its Tundra pickup
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is a full-size pickup truck introduced by Toyota in the year 2000. It was widely considered to be the first full-size import-brand truck built with an American look and feel and a refined V8 engine. The Tundra was eventually nominated for the North American Truck of the Year...
, as well as shortages of its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation...
, Corolla
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...
and Yaris
Toyota Yaris
The Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car produced by Toyota since 1999. Between 1999 and 2005, some markets received the same vehicles under the Toyota Echo name...
. In response, the company has announced plans to idle its truck plants, while shifting production at other facilities to manufacture in-demand vehicles.
On Jan 26, 2010, Toyota suspended sales of eight recalled vehicle models to fix accelerator pedals with mechanical problems that could cause them to become stuck.