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Toyota Motor Corporation

Brief History

The history of Toyota started in 1933 with the company being a division of Toyoda Automatic
Loom Works devoted to the production of cars under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro
Toyoda. 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. 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.

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 was written in the Kanji "" (rendered as "Toyoda"), the company
name was changed to a similar word in katakana - (rendered as "Toyota") because the
latter has 8 strokes which is regarded as a lucky number in East Asian culture. Since Kanji are
essentially Chinese characters, in Chinese speaking markets, the company and its vehicles are
still referred to by the original Kanji name (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ;
pinyin: fng tin), but with Chinese pronunciation.

During the Pacific War (World War II) the company was dedicated to truck 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.

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".

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. The first few months of the Korean War resulted 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.

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. From 1963 until 1965, Australia was Toyota's
biggest export market. By the end of the decade, Toyota had established a worldwide presence,
as the company had exported its one-millionth unit.

The first Japanese vehicles to arrive in North America were five Land Cruisers in El Salvador in
May 1953.

The first Toyotas sent to Europe were two Toyopet Tiaras sent to Finland for evaluation in June
1962, but no sales followed. The first European importer was Erla Auto Import A/S of Denmark,
who brought in 190 Crowns following a May 1963 agreement to become the distributor for
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The Netherlands followed in May 1964, and after having
established toeholds in countries with little or no indigenous automobile production other
markets followed in 1966. In 1968 Toyota established its first European CKD assembler,
Salvador Caetano I.M.V.T. of Portugal.
Product

Toyota Industries Corporation engages in a wide variety of businesses including automobile


(vehicles, engines, car air-conditioning compressors, and car electronics), materials handling
equipment, and textile machinery.

Here are some of the products and services Toyota Industries offers.

Automobiles
1. Vehicles
Toyota Industries began production of the Publica Pickup Truck in 1967 and has
manufactured compact medium class vehicles for Toyota Motor Corporation for 50
years. Toyota Industries manufactures the Vitz (Yaris outside Japan) and the RAV4.
The cumulative number of vehicles produced by Toyota Industries exceeded a
milestone of 10 million in October 2016.
Responding to demand for further improvements in vehicle fuel performance, Toyota
Industries also engages in the development and manufacture of plastic glazing,
which is highly effective in realizing lighter-weight vehicles.

Vitz (Yariz) RAV4

2. Engines
Toyota Industries manufactures gas, gasoline and diesel engines in classes ranging
from 1,000 cc to 5,200 cc.
Automotive engines are manufactured on consignment from Toyota Motor
Corporation and are all used in TOYOTA-brand automobiles. The automotive diesel
engines we produce are developed in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation.
We are going all out to develop environmentally friendly engines that offer high
power, low noise, low vibration, and reduced weight.
The high-output, environmentally friendly industrial engines we produce are used in
TOYOTA-brand lift trucks and various types of industrial equipment. In addition, we
work on a wide range of improvement programs, including the streamlining of
manufacturing processes by utilizing automatic guided vehicle systems (AGV). We
also manufacture various kinds of foundry parts.
Engines for Automobiles Industrial Engines

Foundry Parts Turbochargers

3. Car Air-Conditioning Compressors


Car air conditioners use the heat from evaporation of refrigerants to cool the inside of
cars. The heart of a car air conditioner is the compressor. Toyota Industries has led
the world with its development of innovative new products ahead of other companies
and the proprietary technological skills that make those products possible. Our
products, such as variable displacement compressors that automatically control
cooling based on the temperature inside and outside the vehicle, as well as engine
status and 10-cylinder swash plate fixed capacity compressors with their small size
and light weight, have been widely adopted by car manufacturers, both in Japan and
around the world, giving us a large share of the global market. As part of our long-
standing commitment to environmental preservation, we are developing compressors
that contribute to fuel efficiency.
Fixed-Displacement Compressor Continuous Variable Displacement
Compressor

Electric Compressor Aluminun Die-Cast


Products

Materials Handling Equipment

Toyota Industries develops, manufactures, and markets industrial vehicles, such as


lift trucks, and other materials handling equipment and systems related to
transportation, storage, and sorting of goods. In order to help our customers,
overcome their logistics challenges, we offer optimized materials handling solutions
based on our technological capabilities and materials handling know-how.
We provide materials handling products and service to our customers around the
world through Toyota Material Handling Group (TMHG), under the brands of
TOYOTA, BT, RAYMOND and CESAB. Under the AICHI brand, we provide aerial
work platforms.

Toyota Material Handling Group (TMHG)

Toyota Industries materials handling umbrella organization Toyota Material Handling


Group (TMHG) is the worlds leading manufacturing group of lift trucks with a global
reach. We provide financing, leasing, fleet management, insurance and innovative
material handling solutions.
Textile Machinery

The roots of the Toyota Group go back to the renowned Japanese inventor Sakichi
Toyoda and his invention of the automatic loom.
Since its founding, Toyota Industries' Textile Machinery Business has developed,
manufactured, and marketed textile machinery, the majority of which has been supplied
to customers outside Japan. We manufacture two main categories of textile machinery:
spinning machinery and weaving machinery. Our textile machinery receives high praise
from customers around the world for its high reliability and productivity as our products
are developed through technological expertise accumulated over the years. Especially
our flagship air-jet loom boasts the No. share in the industry.

Spinning Machinery Weaving Machinery

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