Foundation: 1937
Headquarters: Toyota city, Aichi
President: Akio Toyoda
Executive Summary: Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational auto manufacturer, and one of the largest companies in the world, with a truly global presence. The company, originally called Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, was founded in 1926 by Sakichi Toyoda to manufacture and sell his automatic looms. The rights to the loom were bought by the Platt Brothers, a British company, in 1929, and the proceeds from the sale were given to Sakichi’s son Kiichiro to begin work on automotive technology. In 1933, the automotive branch was established, which would eventually evolve into Toyota Motors. In 1935, the Model A1 was completed, which was the company’s first passenger car. The first engine had only two cylinders. The body design was copied from the Chrysler Airflow. Toyota gained government support early on due to the need to develop cars for military purposes. The company was also boosted by the government’s decision to stop all imports in 1936, resulting in a huge demand for locally-made cars. The following year, the Toyota Motor Company was split off from the main Loom Works company. At this stage, Toyota found more success in truck and bus production than cars. The company created new branches, establishing the Toyota Steel Works and Toyoda Hospital; the predecessor to the current Kariya Toyota General Hospital. During the years leading up to the war, Japan faced a major steel shortage. The raw material for its production was imported from the United States until 1940 when such imports were ended due to growing political tensions over Japan’s invasion of China. Toyota stepped up its production of trucks for the military, upgrading their engine output, increasing load capacity, and developing four-wheel drive for all terrain purposes. Following the war, the company was allowed by the Allied occupation forces to resume auto production as early as December 1945. In 1947, Toyota developed the Model SA Toyopet, an inexpensive passenger car built to handle the rough roads of postwar Japan. The company researched about auto production techniques in the United States, including tours of Ford production lines, with key lessons brought back home to Japan. Due to the relatively small number of Japanese drivers, a sales division was founded in 1950. The Toyopet Sedan was the first car to be marketed in the United States, although it was poorly received. It was not until the 1965 release of the Corona, an Americanized car, that Toyota found US success. The company expanded to an international scale, opening a headquarters in Hollywood and a production plant in Brazil. The company later delved into the luxury car business promoting the Lexus, and it also developed the first mass produced hybrid car, the Prius. Toyota has continued to grow and now regularly competes for the position of the Global Number One car producer by unit sales. Its annual income is in the range of US$270 billion.
