Manufacturing

Toyota is a Japanese automaker with worldwide headquarters in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.

Kiichiro Toyoda started the company in 1937 as a spin-off of his father’s company, Toyota Industries. It was previously a division of the same company beginning in 1933. Toyoda means fertile rice paddies in Japanese, so the company name was changed slightly so as not to be associated with farming.

Kiichiro traveled to Europe and the US in 1929/1930 and became fascinated with the cars and engines he saw. The Japanese government, in need of cars and engines, encouraged Kiichiro to develop and build cars. The first models looked similar to the cars he saw on this travels. 

In June of 1950, the company made only 300 vehicles and was on the verge of going bankrupt. A small bank loan, however, along with bank instructions that the company not hire any more workers than necessary took the company out of the red.

Toyota entered the American market in 1957. In the 1960’s the U.S. began to put high tariffs on imported vehicles. In response, Toyota began to manufacture vehicles in the U.S. in the early 1980’s.

In response to the 1973 oil crisis, consumers began to demand smaller cars with better fuel efficiency.  

In the 1990’s Toyota began to branch out from this restriction to produce larger and more luxurious vehicles, including several lines of SUVs. Toyota began to produce the world’s first hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997.   

In 2014, the company unveiled what many people consider to be one of the strangest looking “cars” ever made, the Toyota I Road. This electric three wheeled, two passenger vehicle which looks more like an enclosed motorcycle, other than the steering wheel. With a top speed of 30MPH, this city friendly car can go about 31 miles on a single charge, and it recharges in 3 hours. Company spokespersons say that they are working on improving the speed and range of the vehicle and hope to have it for sale in 2019. 

Today Toyota is the world’s largest automobile manufacturer by production and the world’s thirteenth largest company. The company has over 350,000 employees worldwide and had $228.48 trillion in revenue in 2016.

Toyota is a Japanese automaker with worldwide headquarters in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.

History

Kiichiro Toyoda started the company in 1937 as a spin-off of his father’s company, Toyota Industries. It was previously a division of the same company beginning in 1933. Toyoda means fertile rice paddies in Japanese, so the company name was changed slightly so as not to be associated with farming.

Kiichiro traveled to Europe and the US in 1929/1930 and became fascinated with the cars and engines he saw. The Japanese government, in need of cars and engines, encouraged Kiichiro to develop and build cars. The first models looked similar to the cars he saw on this travels. 

In June of 1950, the company made only 300 vehicles and was on the verge of going bankrupt. A small bank loan, however, along with bank instructions that the company not hire any more workers than necessary took the company out of the red.

Toyota entered the American market in 1957. In the 1960’s the U.S. began to put high tariffs on imported vehicles. In response, Toyota began to manufacture vehicles in the U.S. in the early 1980’s.

In response to the 1973 oil crisis, consumers began to demand smaller cars with better fuel efficiency.  

In the 1990’s Toyota began to branch out from this restriction to produce larger and more luxurious vehicles, including several lines of SUVs. Toyota began to produce the world’s first hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997.   

In 2014, the company unveiled what many people consider to be one of the strangest looking “cars” ever made, the Toyota I Road. This electric three wheeled, two passenger vehicle which looks more like an enclosed motorcycle, other than the steering wheel. With a top speed of 30MPH, this city friendly car can go about 31 miles on a single charge, and it recharges in 3 hours. Company spokespersons say that they are working on improving the speed and range of the vehicle and hope to have it for sale in 2019. 

Today Toyota is the world’s largest automobile manufacturer by production and the world’s thirteenth largest company. The company has over 350,000 employees worldwide and had $228.48 trillion in revenue in 2016.