The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, who in 1933 established an automobile department in his father's loom factory—Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd.—following a trip to tour United States automobile plants. The department concentrated on building fuel-efficient vehicles and completed its first experimental vehicles in 1935. In 1937 Toyoda established Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.
During World War II (1939-1945) the Japanese government forced Toyota to make trucks for the military. The war and the ensuing economic crisis left Toyota without adequate production facilities. As Toyota rebuilt, it decided to make smaller cars in an effort to avoid direct competition with automobile plants in the United States and Europe, which primarily produced larger vehicles. Toyota released its small-car prototype in 1947. In 1949 the company came close to bankruptcy, failed to meet payroll, and was faced with labor problems.
Toyoda resigned as head of the company in 1949. His successors, Eiji Toyoda and Shoichi Saito, began investing in efficient, modern facilities to produce more sophisticated automobiles. In 1954 the company developed the Kanban system, based on a system for stocking the shelves at a supermarket, which ensured that manufacturing parts remained in stock. Toyota introduced a number of new vehicles in the 1950s, including the four-wheel-drive Land Cruiser in 1951, the Crown in 1955, and the Corona in 1957.
In the 1960s the company continued to expand its production facilities to meet the growing worldwide need for economical cars. The Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1966, became extremely popular in Japan and elsewhere and by 1970 Toyota had become the world's fourth largest auto manufacturer. The company introduced the models of Celica in 1970, the Tercel in 1978, and the Camry in 1980, all of which became popular models.
By 1980 Japan produced more cars than the United States, and Toyota trailed only General Motors Corporation (GM) in worldwide production. The company changed its name to Toyota Motor Corporation in 1982. In 1984 Toyota joined with GM to build a car models production plant in Lexington, Kentucky. Over the next ten years, Toyota invested $6.5 billion in production plants in North America.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Toyota shifted its emphasis to higher-priced cars, including the successful Lexus line. A global recession resulted in lowered profits, but Toyota remained among the largest car companies in the world.
In 1997 Toyota became the first auto manufacturer to mass-produce a car powered by a combination of electricity and gasoline. The Toyota model - Prius doubles the fuel efficiency of conventional gasoline-powered cars and dramatically reduces toxic emissions. Toyota sold 30,000 of these hybrid cars in Japan between 1997 and 1999. The Prius became available in North America in 2000.
Tags: world companies, cars, toyota, vehicles, trucks, companies
