Toyota Company History
Toyota Motor Company came into existence in September 1933 when Toyoda Automatic Loom created a new division for production of automobiles. The company was established as an independent company in 1937. The founding family name is Toyoda, however the changed company name symbolizes the separation from the founder's home life. Another reason for the change in name is that Toyota takes eight strokes to write in Japanese and is considered to be luckier than Toyoda. The company was formed under the direction of Sakichi Toyoda's son Kiichiro Toyoda. The Company produced its first Type A engine in 1934, its first car and the G1 truck in 1935. The Type A engine was used in the first Model A1 passenger car. The production of the second car, Model AA (passenger car) started in 1936.
The company was dedicated to the production of trucks for the Imperial Army during the Pacific War. Since Japan was facing several shortages during that period, the military trucks were kept extremely simple. Fortunately, the war ended just before a scheduled Allied bombing run on the factories in Aichi. The company started the SA compact passenger car production in 1947. The company established a separate sales company Toyota Motor Sales Co. in 1957 that lasted until July 1982.
Toyota owns manufacturing or assembly plants all over the world including the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and more recently Pakistan, India, Argentina, Czech Republic, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, China and Venezuela. Land Cruiser FJ-251, built in Sao Paulo, Brazil was the first Toyota that was built out of Japan in 1959. In 2003, they created Scion, which means a descendant or heir. This company is known in the industry for its manufacturing philosophy, called the Toyota Production System. Many manufacturing companies copy this system worldwide. In 2005, it was the 4th largest auto company in the world in terms of sales. It recorded sales of $135.82 billion. In May 2006, Toyota became number three in total sales in the US. In June 2006, Toyota surpassed Ford and became the second largest maker of automobiles in the US. The Toyota Cars are known worldwide for their quality and performance.
