Toyota Motor Corporation is the world’s biggest car manufacturer beating the likes of General Motors and Volkswagen. Its headquarters is located in Toyota, Aichi, Japan and its cars can be found all over the world. How it became the biggest car manufacturer in the world is a testament to its excellence in engineering and manufacturing.
The story of Toyota starts not with cars or car parts but with looms.
Sakichi Toyoda invented an automatic loom and started the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1924. The area where the business was started was a major producer of silk in Japan and exports its products all over the world. A cousin of Mr Toyoda convinced him to look for alternatives to the silk production business as the demand slowed down in the 1930s. They decided to enter the automobile manufacturing business and sold the patent to their automatic loom to fund the paradigm shift.
First car made and sold by Toyota / Toyoda. Display at Display at Toyota Museum in Nagakute-cho , Aichi-gun, Aichi Pref. Japan. By Bertel Schmitt. Wikipedia
The first car made by the company was under the supervision of Kiichiro Toyoda. The car was called the Toyoda Model AA. The four-door sedan has a 3.4 litre inline six petrol engine that can produce 62bhp and had a three-speed manual gearbox. The engine design was heavily based on the Chevrolet engines of the period and the chassis and electrical was copied from Ford. The sedan featured rear suicide doors and a metal body. The body design was based on the Desoto Airflow that was built by Chrysler. The AA debuted in 1936.
In 1937, the company name was changed to Toyota as it sounded better and had eight brush strokes to write. Eight is considered as a lucky number in Japan. The Toyota Motor Corporation was formed as an independent company in 1937.
1936 Toyota Model AA. Wikipedia
Toyota Model AB Phaeton (1936). Wikipedia
Toyoda Type ABR Phaeton in Japan Automobile Museum. Wikipedia
In 1957, Toyota entered the American market with the Toyota Crown. Eventually, Japanese-made cars became successful in the US market due to the fuel crisis forcing vehicle owners to purchase cars that had better fuel economy. In the 1980s, Toyota along with Nissan and Honda gained more foothold on the US market by having plants in North America. Lexus, the luxury vehicle brand of Toyota was launched in 1989.
Toyota Motor Corporation is currently the biggest manufacturer of automobiles in the world. They have reached over 200 million cars produced. The company also manufactures around 10 million cars in a year. The Toyota Prius is one of the best known hybrid cars in the world and is also one of the best selling. Currently, the Toyota Group is one of the most successful conglomerates in the world and 13th largest in terms of revenues. Toyota also produces cars under the Hino, Lexus, Scion and Ranz brands.
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