Toyota Motor Corp was the Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer. The first generation of Toyota Prius was introduced in December 1997. It was the first mass-produced hybrid car that ran on gasoline-electric technology.
Toyota Motor Corporation headquarters are located at Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, in the country of Japan. It was founded by Japanese business man Kiichiro Toyoda. It was incorporated in the year 1937 on August 28. Toyota Company was one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. It was producing approximately 10 million vehicles annually.
Toyota Motor Corporation was originally founded as a spinoff of Toyota Industries. It was started by a machine manufacturer Kiichiro’s father, Sakichi Toyoda. Now the both companies are part of the Toyota Group.
The Toyota Group is one of the world’s largest conglomerates. While still a department of Toyota Industries, the company developed the Type A engine in 1934. It also developed its first passenger car, the Toyota AA, in 1936.
Sakichi Toyoda, in 1924, came up with the invention of Toyoda Model G automatic loom. Jidoka’s principle is to automatically stop the engine in the event of a problem. This principle was later incorporated in the Toyota production system.
Looms are built on a small production line. In the year 1929, a patent for an automatic loom was sold to the British company Platt Brothers. It was generated the initial capital for the development of the automobile.
The Model AA was the Toyoda’s first passenger car that was completed in April 1936. The selling price was ¥3,350 which was ¥400 less than Ford or GM cars.
These vehicles were originally sold under the name “Toyoda” after the family name of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda. In September 1936, the company held an open competition to design a new logo. Out of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was three Japanese katakana characters for “Toyoda” in a circle.
During the early 1950s, Toyota was facing a financial crisis as a small company. As a result, they had to shut down some factories and let terminate of some employees also. Coincidentally, the Korean War began around the same time. As the war progressed, the U.S. Army placed an order of 1,000 trucks from Toyota.
Toyota Motor Corp began development of its first full-scale passenger car, the Toyota Crown, in January 1952. Prior to Crown, Toyota outsourced the design of auto bodies. It is also outsourced the manufacture of auto bodies mounted on Toyota-manufactured truck frames.
The project was successful for several years until the sudden death of founder Kiichiro Toyoda on March 27, 1952. The first prototypes are completed in the year of 1953 (June). In August 1955 Crown began extensive testing prior to sale.
After the introduction of the Crown, Toyota began actively expanding into the export market. In November 1955, Toyota began shipping Land Cruiser knock-down kits to Latin America.
As part of the war reparations provided by the Japanese government in 1956, Toyota sent complete Land Cruiser vehicles to Myanmar. It also sent complete Land Cruiser vehicles to the Philippines. In June 1957, Toyota established a branch in Thailand. In August 1957, Toyota shipped Land Cruisers to Australia.
In 1981, Eiji Toyoda resigned from his position as chairman and took on the role of chairman. His son, Shoichiro Toyoda, who is the son of the company’s founder, succeeded him as president.
Toyota’s two flagship models, the Crown and Century, are both catered exclusively for the Japanese market. It has global appeal to compete with international luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Jaguar.
In December 1997, the first generation of Toyota Prius was launched. It was the first mass-produced hybrid car that ran on gasoline-electric technology. On September 29, 1999, the company decided to list on the New York and London stock exchanges.
In August 2000, exports of the Prius began. Toyota acquired its longtime partner, truck and bus manufacturer Hino Motors in the year 2001.
In 2002, Toyota entered Formula One competition. Also, that year, Toyota established a manufacturing joint venture in France with French automakers Citroen and Peugeot. A youth-oriented marque, Scion, was introduced in 2003 for North America.
Forbes 2000 listed Toyota as the eighth most prominent company in the world in 2005. Also in 2005, Fujio Cho became chairman of Toyota and Katsuki Watanabe became president.
In the year 2007, Toyota Company was released an update of its full-size truck, the Tundra. The production of Tundra was carried out in two American factories, located in Texas and Indiana respectively. Also, the Tundra was awarded “Truck of the Year” by Motor Trend, and the Camry was honored as “Car of the Year.”
It also started construction of two new factories, one in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada and the other in Blue Springs, Mississippi, in USA. In October 2009, Toyota announced they were setting up an office in South Korea. They released the Camry sedan, Camry Hybrid, Prius and RAV4 at a launch event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.
On 10 February 2014, it was announced that Toyota would cease manufacturing vehicles and engines in Australia by the end of 2017. In August 2016, the company acquired all remaining assets of Daihatsu. It makes the small car maker a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota. On August 27, 2018, Toyota announced a US$500 million investment in Uber’s autonomous cars.
By 2020, Toyota has overtaken Volkswagen to reclaim its position as the world’s largest automaker. It sold 9.528 million vehicles worldwide, despite an 11.3% decline in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino Motors.
In 2021, Toyota instructed certain suppliers to raise their stock of semiconductors. This change came in response to the COVID-19 chip shortage. The suppliers were instructed to increase inventory levels from the traditional 3 months to 5 months.
The “in-time” supply chain, which delivers parts only when needed, has already been revised. This revision happened after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan lifted stocks across the entire procurement network. In August 2022, Toyota pledged up to $5.6 billion in battery production for electric vehicles. The company also announced increased investment at its plant near Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 17-passenger minibus, Toyota Coaster 1969, is commonly found in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. Additionally, it is utilized of public transportation in developing nations such as Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Caribbean, and South America.
It is developing its own self-driving technology called “Chauffeur” (intended for full self-driving) and “Guardian” (driver assist system). Neither of which has been introduced into production vehicles.
In December 2020, Toyota unveiled a 20-passenger “e-Palette” shared autonomous vehicle that will be used in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Toyota has announced that it hopes to make the vehicle available for commercial applications by 2025.
In 2004, Toyota unveiled its trumpet-playing robot. Toyota is developing multitask robots aimed at elderly care, manufacturing and entertainment.
An illustration of Toyota’s engagement in robotics for the elderly is the Brain Machine Interface technology. It is a device that enables individuals using wheelchairs to operate an electric wheelchair with precision using their thoughts in real-time.
In 2017, the company introduced the T-HR3, a humanoid robot capable of remote control. A robot can copy the movements of a connected person. While the 2017 version used wires for connection, the 2018 version used 5G from a distance of 10 km.
