History of Toyota

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Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda

Replica of the Toyota Model AA, the first production model of Toyota in 1936

The history of Toyota started in 1933 with the company being a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works
devoted to the production of automobiles under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda.[1] 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.[2] In 1934, the division produced its first Type A Engine, which was used in the first
Model A1 passenger car in May 1935 and the G1 truck in August 1935. Production of the Model AA passenger
car started in 1936. Early vehicles bear a striking resemblance to the Dodge Power Wagon and Chevrolet, with
some parts actually interchanging with their American originals.[2]

Although the Toyota Group is best known today for its cars, it is still in the textile business and still makes
automatic looms, which are now computerized, and electric sewing machines 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 (), the company name was changed because the name Toyota () is
considered to be luckier than Toyoda () in Japan because eight is regarded as a lucky number, and eight is
the number of strokes it takes to write Toyota in katakana.[3] In Chinese, the company and its vehicles are still
referred to by the equivalent characters (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: fng tin),
with Chinese pronunciation.
During the Pacific War (World War II) the company was dedicated to truck[citation needed]production for the Imperial
Japanese Army. Because of severe shortages in Japan, 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 bombing run on the Toyota factories in Aichi.

1947 Toyopet Model SA

1957 Toyopet Crown

After World War II, Japan experienced extreme economic difficulty. Commercial passenger car production
started in 1947 with the model SA. 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".[4]
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. Toyoda was succeeded by Taizo Ishida, who was the
chief executive of the Toyoda Automatic Loom company.[4] The first few months of the Korean Warresulted 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.[4]
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 became the first Japanese car to be
exported to the United States and Toyota's American and Brazilian 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 was established, the 10 millionth model was produced, a Deming Prize, and partnerships with Hino
Motors and Daihatsu were also established. The first Toyota built outside Japan was in April 1963,
at Melbourne, Australia.[5] 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. For Toyota, these were attributed mainly
to slow sales of its Tundra pickup, as well as shortages of its fuel-efficient vehicles such as
the Prius, Corolla and Yaris. In response, the company has announced plans to idle its truck plants, while
shifting production at other facilities to manufacture in-demand vehicles.[6][7][8][9]
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.[10]