|Romanized name||Toyota Jidosha KK|
|Traded as||TYO: 7203
|Founded||August 28, 1937|
|Headquarters||Toyota, Aichi, Japan|
|Key people||Fujio Cho (Chairman)
Akio Toyoda (President and CEO)
|Products||Automobiles, commercial vehicles, engines, motorcycles|
|Production output||9,909,440 units (CY 2012)|
|Services||Banking, financing, leasing|
|Revenue||¥22.064 trillion (FY 2013) |
|Operating income||¥1.320 trillion (FY 2013) |
|Profit||¥962.1 billion (FY 2013)|
|Total assets||¥35.483 trillion (FY 2013)|
|Total equity||¥12.773 trillion (FY 2013)|
|Subsidiaries||522 (Toyota Group)|
Toyota Motor Corporation (トヨタ自動車株式会社 Toyota Jidōsha KK, IPA: [toꜜjota]) //, abbreviated TMC, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2010, Toyota employed 300,734 people worldwide, and was the third-largest automobile manufacturer in 2011 by production behind General Motors and Volkswagen Group. Toyota is the eleventh-largest company in the world by revenue. In July 2012, the company reported it had manufactured its 200-millionth vehicle.
The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1937 as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles. Three years earlier, in 1934, while still a department of Toyota Industries, it created its first product, the Type A engine, and, in 1936, its first passenger car, the Toyota AA. Toyota Motor Corporation group companies are Toyota (including the Scion brand), Lexus, Daihatsu, and Hino Motors, along with several "nonautomotive" companies. TMC is part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
Toyota is headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi. The main headquarters of Toyota is located in a three story building in Toyota. As of 2006 the head office has the "Toyopet" Toyota logo and the words "Toyota Motor". The Toyota Technical Center, a 14-story building, and the Honsha plant, Toyota's second plant engaging in mass production and formerly named the Koromo plant, are adjacent to one another in a location near the headquarters. Vinod Jacob from The Hindu described the main headquarters building as "modest". In 2013 company head Akio Toyoda reported that it had difficulties retaining foreign employees at the headquarters due to the lack of amenities in Toyota.
Its Tokyo office is located in Bunkyo, Tokyo. Its Nagoya office is located in Nakamura-ku, Nagoya. In addition to manufacturing automobiles, Toyota provides financial services through its Toyota Financial Services division, and also builds robots.
President of Toyota Motor Company:
In 1981, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. announced plans to merge with its sales entity Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd. which existed as separate companies since 1950 as a prerequisite for reconstruction in postwar Japan. Shoichiro Toyoda took the helm at Toyota Motor Sales in preparation for the consummation of the merger which would occur in 1982 with Shoichiro succeeding his uncle Eiji as the President of the combined organization, now known as Toyota Motor Corporation.
President of Toyota Motor Corporation:
CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation:
Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation:
Toyota is publicly traded on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo exchanges under company code TYO: 7203. In addition, Toyota is foreign-listed on the New York Stock Exchange under NYSE: TM and on the London Stock Exchange under LSE: TYT. Toyota has been publicly traded in Japan since 1949 and internationally since 1999.
As reported on its consolidated financial statements, Toyota has 540 consolidated subsidiaries and 226 affiliates.
In 2011, the Toyota Group (including Daihatsu, Hino and Chinese joint ventures) fell to place three with 8,050,181 units produced globally. According to an unofficial count, based on unit production reported by major automakers, Toyota regained its top rank with 9,909,440 units produced globally in calendar 2012.  On May 8, 2013, Toyota announced plans to produce 10.1 million units in fiscal 2013, which, if achieved, would make it the first auto manufacturer to cross the 10 million unit threshold.
On May 8, 2009, Toyota reported a record annual net loss of US$4.2 billion, making it the latest automobile maker to be severely affected by the global financial crisis that started in 2007. Toyota's financial unit had asked for an emergency loan from a state-backed lender on March 16, 2009, with reports putting the figure at more than US$3 billion. It said the international financial situation was squeezing its business, forcing it to ask for an emergency loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. This was the first time the state-backed bank has been asked to lend to a Japanese car manufacturer.
On May 8, 2013, Toyota Motor Corporation announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. Net revenues totaled 22.0 trillion yen (US$ 216,7 billion, +18.7%). Operating income was 1.32 trillion yen (US$13 billion, +371%), net income 962.1 billion yen (US$9.47 billion, +339%). 
Toyota was started in 1933 as a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works devoted to the production of automobiles under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda. Its first vehicles were the A1 passenger car and the G1 in 1935. The Toyota Motor Co. was established as an independent company in 1937. In 2008, Toyota's sales surpassed General Motors, making Toyota number one in the world.
In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented the Toyoda Model G Automatic Loom. The principle of Jidoka, which means the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the Toyota Production System. Looms were built on a small production line. In 1929, the patent for the automatic loom was sold to a British company, generating the starting capital for the automobile development.
Vehicles were originally sold under the name "Toyoda" (トヨダ), from the family name of the company's founder, Kiichirō Toyoda. In April 1936, Toyoda's first passenger car, the Model AA, was completed. The sales price was 3,350 yen, 400 yen cheaper than Ford or GM cars.
In September 1936, the company ran a public competition to design a new logo. Of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was the three Japanese katakana letters for "Toyoda" in a circle. But Risaburō Toyoda, who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota" (トヨタ) because it took eight brush strokes (a lucky number) to write in Japanese, was visually simpler (leaving off the diacritic at the end) and with a voiceless consonant instead of a voiced one (voiced consonants are considered to have a "murky" or "muddy" sound compared to voiceless consonants, which are "clear").
Since "Toyoda" literally means "fertile rice paddies", changing the name also prevented the company from being associated with old-fashioned farming. The newly formed word was trademarked and the company was registered in August 1937 as the "Toyota Motor Company".
From September 1947, Toyota's small-sized vehicles were sold under the name "Toyopet" (トヨペット). The first vehicle sold under this name was the Toyopet SA, but it also included vehicles such as the Toyopet SB light truck, Toyopet Stout light truck, Toyopet Crown, Toyopet Master, and the Toyopet Corona. The word "Toyopet (Japanese article)" was a nickname given to the Toyota SA due to its small size, as the result of a naming contest the Toyota Company organized in 1947. However, when Toyota eventually entered the American market in 1957 with the Crown, the name was not well received due to connotations of toys and pets. The name was soon dropped for the American market, but continued in other markets until the mid-1960s.
By the early 1960s, the US had begun placing stiff import tariffs on certain vehicles. The chicken tax of 1964 placed a 25% tax on imported light trucks. In response to the tariff, Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. began building plants in the US by the early 1980s.
Toyota received its first Japanese Quality Control Award at the start of the 1980s and began participating in a wide variety of motorsports. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, consumers in the lucrative US market began turning to small cars with better fuel economy. American car manufacturers had considered small economy cars to be an "entry level" product, and their small vehicles employed a low level of quality to keep the price low.
In 1982, the Toyota Motor Company and Toyota Motor Sales merged into one company, the Toyota Motor Corporation. Two years later, Toyota entered into a joint venture with General Motors called the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, NUMMI, operating an automobile-manufacturing plant in Fremont, California. The factory was an old General Motors plant that had been closed for two years. Toyota then started to establish new brands at the end of the 1980s, with the launch of their luxury division Lexus in 1989.
In the 1990s, Toyota began to branch out from producing mostly compact cars by adding many larger and more luxurious vehicles to its lineup, including a full-sized pickup, the T100 (and later the Tundra); several lines of SUVs; a sport version of the Camry, known as the Camry Solara; and the Scion brand, a group of several affordable, yet sporty, automobiles targeted specifically to young adults. Toyota also began production of the world's best-selling hybrid car, the Prius, in 1997.
With a major presence in Europe, due to the success of Toyota Team Europe, the corporation decided to set up Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering, TMME, to help market vehicles in the continent. Two years later, Toyota set up a base in the United Kingdom, TMUK, as the company's cars had become very popular among British drivers. Bases in Indiana, Virginia, and Tianjin were also set up. In 1999, the company decided to list itself on the New York and London Stock Exchanges.
In 2001, Toyota's Toyo Trust and Banking merged with two other banks to form UFJ Bank, which was accused of corruption by Japan's government for making bad loans to alleged Yakuza crime syndicates with executives accused of blocking Financial Service Agency inspections. The UFJ was listed among Fortune Magazine's largest money-losing corporations in the world, with Toyota's chairman serving as a director. At the time, the UFJ was one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. As a result of Japan's banking crisis, UFJ merged with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi to become the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
Toyota ranked eighth on Forbes 2000 list of the world's leading companies for the year 2005 but slid to 55 for 2011. The company was number one in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008.
In 2007, Toyota released an update of its full-size truck, the Tundra, produced in two American factories, one in Texas and one in Indiana. "Motor Trend" named the Tundra "Truck of the Year," and the 2007 Toyota Camry "Car of the Year" for 2007. It also began the construction of two new factories, one to build the RAV4 in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and the other to build the Toyota Prius in Blue Springs, Mississippi, USA. This plant was originally intended to build the Toyota Highlander, but Toyota decided to use the plant in Princeton, Indiana, USA, instead. The company has also found recent success with its smaller models—the Corolla and Yaris—as gasoline prices have risen rapidly in the last few years.
From November 2009 through 2010, Toyota recalled more than 9 million cars and trucks worldwide in several recall campaigns, and briefly halted production and sales.. Toyota initiated the recalls, the first two with the assistance of the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), after reports that several vehicles experienced unintended acceleration.
In 2011, Toyota, along with large parts of the Japanese automotive industry, suffered from a series of natural disasters. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami led to a severe disruption of the supplier base and a drop in production and exports.   Severe flooding during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand affected Japanese automakers that had chosen Thailand as a production base. Toyota estimated to have lost production of 150,000 units to the tsunami and production of 240,000 units to the floods.
In October 2012, Toyota announced a recall of 7.43 million vehicles worldwide to fix malfunctioning power window switches, the largest recall since that of Ford Motor Company in 1996. The move came after a series of recalls between 2009 and 2011 in which it pulled back around 10 million recalls amidst claims of faulty mechanics.
In 1936, Toyota entered the passenger car market with its Model AA and held a competition to establish a new logo emphasizing speed for its new product line. After receiving 27,000 entries, one was selected that additionally resulted in a change of its moniker to "Toyota" from the family name "Toyoda". The new name was believed to sound better, and its eight-stroke count in the Japanese language was associated with wealth and good fortune. The original logo no longer is found on its vehicles, but remains the corporate emblem used in Japan.
Still, no guidelines existed for the use of the brand name, "TOYOTA", which was used throughout most of the world, which led to inconsistencies in its worldwide marketing campaigns.
To remedy this, Toyota introduced a new worldwide logo in October 1989 to commemorate the 50th year of the company, and to differentiate it from the newly released luxury Lexus brand. The logo made its debut on the 1989 Toyota Celsior and quickly gained worldwide recognition. The three ovals in the new logo combine to form the letter "T", which stands for Toyota. The overlapping of the two perpendicular ovals inside the larger oval represent the mutually beneficial relationship and trust between the customer and the company, while the larger oval surrounding both of these inner ovals represents the "global expansion of Toyota's technology and unlimited potential for the future."
The new logo started appearing on all printed material, advertisements, dealer signage, and the vehicles themselves in 1990.
In predominantly Chinese-speaking countries or regions using traditional Chinese characters, e.g. Hong Kong and Taiwan, Toyota is known as "豊田". In predominantly Chinese-speaking countries using simplified Chinese characters (e.g. China and Singapore), Toyota is known as "丰田" (pronounced as "Fēngtián" in Mandarin Chinese and "Hɔng Tshan" in Minnanese). These are the same characters as the founding family's name "Toyoda" in Japanese, which translate to "fertile rice paddies" in the Chinese language, as well.
Toyota's marketing efforts in North America have focused on emphasizing the positive experiences of ownership and vehicle quality. The ownership experience has been targeted in slogans such as "You asked for it! You got it!" (1975–1979), "Oh, what a feeling!" (1979 – September 1985, in the US), "Who could ask for anything more?" (September 1985 – 1989), "I love what you do for me, Toyota!" (1989–1997), "Everyday" (1997–2001)", "Get the feeling!" (2001–2004), "Moving Forward" (2004–2012), and "Let's Go Places" (2012–present).
In Japan, Toyota currently maintains separate dealership sales channels, called "Toyota Store" (トヨタ店) that were established in 1949, which sell large luxury sedans such as the Toyota Century, and the Toyota Crown, and "Toyopet Store" (トヨペット店), that was originally established to sell the Toyota Corona and the Toyopet Toyoace truck in 1956.(Toyota's five channel dealerships in Japan chronology in Japanese) Toyota also established a commercial dealership called Toyota Diesel Shop (トヨタディーゼル店) from 1957 until 1988, that sold various commercial platform trucks, buses, and forklifts, such as the Toyota Dyna and the Toyota Coaster. Hino products were sold at specific Hino locations, and shared at Toyota Diesel Store locations after Toyota acquired the company in 1967. Starting in 1980, the Diesel Shop also sold the Starlet, Corolla, Corona, Vista and Crown installed with diesel engines. When the Toyota Diesel Store was disbanded, commercial products were divided between Toyota Store and Toyopet Store locations.
Currently, the "Toyota Corolla Store" (トヨタカローラ店) was renamed from the "Toyota Public Store" (トヨタパブリカ店), which was established to sell the Toyota Publica in 1961, then renamed to sell the Toyota Corolla in 1966.
In 1980, the "Toyota Vista Store" replaced the "Toyota Auto Store" (トヨタオート店) sales network that sold the Corolla companion, called the Toyota Sprinter established in 1966. Toyota Vista was replaced by a Lexus sales network in 2004. Some former Vista models were rebranded as Lexus (レクサス), such as the Altezza and the Aristo. Others have been taken over by the "Toyota Netz Store" (ネッツ店), established in August 1998, which was already selling, among others, the Toyota ist and the Toyota RAV4. "Netz" is an acronym for Network of Energetic Teams for Zenith.
Netz locations are being repositioned to resemble the North American Toyota network, called Scion, and are currently exclusive for the Toyota 86. Most models were exclusive to particular retail chains, while some models, like the Prius, are available at all sales channels. These models are available at retail channels nationally, as retail chains in Tokyo and Osaka are different.
Toyota Century, Toyota Crown Majesta, Toyota Crown, Toyota Master, Toyota SAI, Toyota Prius, Toyota Allion, Toyota Succeed, Toyota Blade, Toyota Corolla RunX, Toyota Porte, Toyota Estima, Toyota Isis, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Toyota Comfort, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Hilux Surf, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Toyota Dyna, Toyota Stout, Toyota Coaster, Toyota QuickDelivery, Toyota 2000GT, Toyota Carina, Toyota Carina ED, Toyota Brevis, Toyota Gaia, Toyota Cavalier, Toyota Classic, Toyota MasterAce, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Mega Cruiser, Toyota Soarer, Toyota Origin, Toyota Caldina
Toyota Mark X, Toyota SAI, Toyota Premio, Toyota Prius, Toyota Belta, Toyota Mark X ZiO, Toyota Succeed, Toyota Ractis, Toyota Blade, Toyota Porte, Toyota Harrier, Toyota Vanguard, Toyota Rush, Toyota Alphard, Toyota Comfort, Toyota Hiace, Toyota Toyoace, Toyota Pixis Space, Toyota Mark II-Mark II Qualis-Mark II Blit, Toyota Corona, Toyota Corona EXiV, Toyota Corona Coupe, Toyota Corsa, Toyota Opa, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Progrès, Toyota Cami, Toyota ist, Toyota Platz, Toyota Soarer, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Cynos, Toyota Regius, Toyota Celsior, Toyota Origin, Toyota Caldina, Toyota Ipsum
Toyota SAI, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius, Toyota Corolla Axio, Toyota Belta, Toyota Probox, Toyota Corolla Rumion, Toyota Ractis, Toyota Passo, Toyota Sera, Toyota Vanguard, Toyota Estima, Toyota Noah, Toyota Sienta, Toyota TownAce, all Daihatsu products, Toyota Publica, Toyota Tercel, Toyota Windom, Toyota Scepter, Toyota Corolla Ceres, Toyota Origin, Toyota Nadia, Toyota WiLL, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Kluger, Toyota Sports 800, Toyota Celica, Toyota Supra, Toyota Corolla Levin, Toyota Celica XX
Toyota Vitz, Toyota SAI, Toyota Prius, Toyota ist, Toyota Auris, Toyota bB, Toyota Avensis, Toyota Raum, Toyota Wish, Toyota Voxy, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Vellfire, Toyota iQ, Toyota Allex, Toyota Fun Cargo, Toyota Altezza, Toyota Verossa, Toyota Curren, Toyota Aristo, Toyota MR-S, Toyota MR2, Toyota Starlet, Toyota Vista, Toyota Cresta, Toyota Sprinter, Toyota Voltz, Toyota Blizzard, Toyota Chaser, Toyota Sprinter Marino, Toyota Carib, Toyota Granvia, Toyota Sprinter Trueno, Toyota LiteAce, Toyota Ipsum, Saturn S-series (1996-2003), Toyota 86, WiLL (1999-2004)
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Toyota's management philosophy has evolved from the company's origins and has been reflected in the terms "Lean Manufacturing" and Just In Time Production, which it was instrumental in developing. Toyota's managerial values and business methods are known collectively as the Toyota Way.
In April 2001, Toyota adopted the "Toyota Way 2001", an expression of values and conduct guidelines that all Toyota employees should embrace. Under the two headings of Respect for People and Continuous Improvement, Toyota summarizes its values and conduct guidelines with the following five principles:
According to external observers, the Toyota Way has four components:
The Toyota Way incorporates the Toyota Production System.
Toyota has long been recognized as an industry leader in manufacturing and production. Three stories of its origin have been found, one that they studied Piggly-Wiggly's just-in-time distribution system, one that they followed the writings of W. Edwards Deming, and one that they were given the principles from a WWII US government training program (Training Within Industry). Regardless of the origin, the principles described by Toyota in its management philosophy, The Toyota Way, are: Challenge, Kaizen (improvement), Genchi Genbutsu (go and see), Respect, and Teamwork.
As described by external observers of Toyota, the principles of the Toyota Way are:
Toyota has grown to a large multinational corporation from where it started and expanded to different worldwide markets and countries. It displaced GM and became the world's largest automobile maker for the year 2008. It held the title of the most profitable automobile maker (US$11 billion in 2006) along with increasing sales in, among other countries, the United States. The world headquarters of Toyota are located in its home country in Toyota City, Japan. Its subsidiary, Toyota Financial Services sells financing and participates in other lines of business. Toyota brands include Scion and Lexus and the corporation is part of the Toyota Group. Toyota also owns 51% of Daihatsu, and 16.7% of Fuji Heavy Industries, which manufactures Subaru vehicles. They also acquired 5.9% of Isuzu Motors Ltd. on November 7, 2006 and will be introducing Isuzu diesel technology into their products.
Toyota has introduced new technologies including one of the first mass-produced hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles, of which it says it has sold 2 million globally as of 2010, Advanced Parking Guidance System (automatic parking), a four-speed electronically controlled automatic with buttons for power and economy shifting, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Toyota, and Toyota-produced Lexus and Scion automobiles, consistently rank near the top in certain quality and reliability surveys, primarily J.D. Power and Consumer Reports although they led in automobile recalls for the first time in 2009.
In 2005, Toyota, combined with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Company, produced 8.54 million vehicles, about 500,000 fewer than the number produced by GM that year. Toyota has a large market share in the United States, but a small market share in Europe. Its also sells vehicles in Africa and is a market leader in Australia. Due to its Daihatsu subsidiary it has significant market shares in several fast-growing Southeast Asian countries.
According to the 2008 Fortune Global 500, Toyota is the fifth largest company in the world. Since the recession of 2001, it has gained market share in the United States. Toyota's market share struggles in Europe where its Lexus brand has three tenths of one percent market share, compared to nearly two percent market share as the US luxury segment leader.
In the first three months of 2007, Toyota together with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu reported number one sales of 2.348 million units. Toyota's brand sales had risen 9.2% largely on demand for Corolla and Camry sedans. The difference in performance was largely attributed to surging demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. In November 2006, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas added a facility in San Antonio. Toyota has experienced quality problems and was reprimanded by the government in Japan for its recall practices. In 2007, Toyota maintained over 16% of the US market share and was listed second only to GM in terms of volume. Toyota Century Royal is the official state car of the Japanese imperial family, namely for the current Emperor of Japan.
Toyota was hit by the global financial crisis of 2008 as it was forced in December 2008 to forecast its first annual loss in 70 years. In January 2009 it announced the closure of all of its Japanese plants for 11 days to reduce output and stocks of unsold vehicles.
Toyota has factories in most parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets. Toyota has manufacturing or assembly plants in Japan, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Colombia, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Brazil, Portugal, and more recently, Argentina, Czech Republic, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Egypt, China, Vietnam, Venezuela, the Philippines, and Russia.
Toyota's net revenue by geographical regions for the year ended March 31, 2007
|Geographic region||Total sales ( Yen in millions)|
In 2002, Toyota initiated the "Innovative International Multi-purpose vehicle" project (IMV) to optimize global manufacturing and supply systems for pickup trucks and multipurpose vehicles, and to satisfy market demand in more than 140 countries worldwide. IMV called for diesel engines to be made in Thailand, gasoline engines in Indonesia and manual transmissions in India and the Philippines, for supply to the countries charged with vehicle production. For vehicle assembly, Toyota would use plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Argentina and South Africa. These four main IMV production and export bases supply Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania, Latin America and the Middle East with three IMV vehicles: The Toyota Hilux (Vigo), the Fortuner, and the Toyota Innova.
Toyota Motor North America headquarters is located in Torrance, California and operates as a holding company in North America. Its manufacturing headquarters is located in Erlanger, Kentucky, and is known as Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, or TEMA.
Toyota Canada Inc. has been in production in Canada since 1983 with an aluminium wheel plant in Delta, British Columbia which currently employs a workforce of roughly 260. Its first vehicle assembly plant, in Cambridge, Ontario since 1988, now produces Corolla compact cars, Matrix crossover vehicles and Lexus RX 350 luxury SUVs, with a workforce of 4,300 workers. Its second assembly operation in Woodstock, Ontario began manufacturing the RAV4 late in 2008. In 2006, Toyota's subsidiary Hino Motors opened a heavy duty truck plant, also in Woodstock, employing 45 people and producing 2000 trucks annually.
Toyota has a large presence in the United States with six major assembly plants in Huntsville, Alabama; Georgetown, Kentucky; Princeton, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; Buffalo, West Virginia and Blue Springs, Mississippi. Toyota had a joint-venture operation with General Motors at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), in Fremont, California, which began in 1984 and ended in 2009. It still has a joint-venture with Subaru at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA), in Lafayette, Indiana, which started in 2006. In these assembly plants, the Camry and the Tundra are manufactured, among others.
Toyota marketing, sales, and distribution in the US are conducted through a separate subsidiary, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.. It has started producing larger trucks, such as the new Tundra, to go after the large truck market in the United States. Toyota is also pushing hybrid vehicles in the US such as the Prius, Camry Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, and various Lexus products.
Toyota has sold more hybrid vehicles in the country than any other manufacturer.
Toyota is one of the largest companies to push hybrid electric vehicles in the market and the first to commercially mass-produce and sell such vehicles, with the introduction of the Toyota Prius in 1997. The company eventually began providing this option on the main smaller cars such as Camry and later with the Lexus divisions, producing some hybrid luxury vehicles. It labeled such technology in Toyota cars as "Hybrid Synergy Drive" and in Lexus versions as "Lexus Hybrid Drive."
As of March 2013[update], Toyota Motors Corporation sells 19 Toyota and Lexus hybrid models and one plug-in hybrid in 80 countries and regions around the world, and the carmaker has plans to introduce 18 new hybrid models before the end of 2015. The Prius liftback is the top selling hybrid gasoline-electric car in world, with cumulative sales of 2.934 million units since its introduction in 1997 through March 2013. The United States is the world's largest hybrid market, and TMC's second, with 1.951 million TMC hybrids have been sold through March 2013, with the Prius liftback ranking as the top selling hybrid car in the U.S. market, which surpassed the 1 million milestone in April 2011. Cumulative sales of the Prius in Japan reached the 1 million mark in August 2011. and the 2 million mark was reached in October 2012. As of March 2013[update], Japan is Toyota's largest hybrid market, with 2.318 million Toyota and Lexus hybrids sold. Europe surpassed the 500,000 sales mark in December 2012.
Worldwide sales of hybrid vehicles produced by Toyota reached 1.0 million vehicles by May 31, 2007, and the 2.0 million mark was reached by August 31, 2009, with hybrids sold in 50 countries. The 5 million hybrid sales milestone was reached in March 2013, and Toyota estimates that up to 31 March 2013, its hybrids have saved about 3 billion gallons of gasoline (11.356 billion liters) of gasoline compared to the amount used by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size, and have emitted approximately 34 million fewer tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance. During 2012, Toyota and Lexus hybrid models sold more than 1 million units a year for the first time, with 1.219 million units sold.
Besides the three generations of Prius liftback, Toyota's hybrid lineup includes the Camry Hybrid (1st and 2nd generation), Toyota Highlander Hybrid (Kluger Hybrid in Japan), Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Toyota Auris Hybrid, Toyota Yaris Hybrid (Europe only), and the following models sold only in Japan: Alphard Hybrid/Vellfire Hybrid, Estima Hybrid, Toyota Sai, Toyota Harrier, and Toyota Crown Hybrid.
Beginning in 2011, TMC introduced three new members to the Prius family, the Prius v (Prius α in Japan and Prius + in Europe), the Prius c (Toyota Aqua in Japan), and the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, released in 2012 in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. With a total of 247,230 vehicles sold during the first quarter of 2012, the Toyota Prius family became the third top selling nameplate in the world in terms of total global sales, after the Toyota Corolla (300,800 units) and the Ford Focus (277,000 units). Until September 2012, The Prius liftback was the top selling new car in Japan for 16 months in a row, until it was surpassed by the Toyota Aqua (Prius c) in October 2012. With 266,567 units sold in Japan in 2012, the Aqua is considered the most successful nameplate launch in the Japanese market in the last 20 years. The Prius c/Aqua model, with global sales of 409,500 units through March 2013, is TMC's second best selling hybrid after the Prius liftback, followed by the two generations of the Camy Hybrid, with 357,000 units sold worldwide.
Lexus also has their own hybrid lineup, consisting of the GS 450h, RX 400h/RX 450h, the LS 600h/LS 600h L, Lexus HS 250h, Lexus CT 200h, and Lexus ES 300h. Global cumulative sales of Lexus brand hybrids reached the 500 thousand mark in November 2012. The Lexus RX 400h/RX 450h is the top selling Lexus hybrid with 268.2 thousand units sold through March 2013, followed by the Lexus CT 200h with 137.3 thousand units.
Toyota's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle project began in 2007, with road trials of a prototype vehicle in France and the UK in 2008. Toyota made available a total of 600 Prius plug-in demonstration vehicles for lease to fleet and government customers, 230 were delivered in Japan beginning in late December 2009, 125 models released in the U.S. by early 2010, and 200 units in 18 European countries in 2010, with France, the UK and Germany with the largest fleets with 150 PHEVs. Canada, China, Australia, and New Zealand also participated in the global demonstration program.
The production version of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid was released in Japan in January 2012, followed by the United States in late February, and deliveries in Europe began in late June 2012. A total of 32,700 Prius PHVs have been sold worldwide through March 2013. The market leader is the United States with 15,103 units sold, followed by Japan with 12,600 units, and Europe with 4,908 units sold through March 2013. As of March 2013[update], the Prius PHV is the world's second best selling plug-in hybrid after the Chevrolet Volt.
The first generation Toyota RAV4 EV was leased in the United States from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees' request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. A total of 1,484 were leased and/or sold in California to meet the state’s CARB mandate for Zero-emissions vehicle. As of mid-2012, there were almost 500 units still in use.
In May 2010, Toyota launched a collaboration with Tesla Motors to create electric vehicles. Toyota agreed to purchase US$50 million of Tesla common stock subsequent to the closing of Tesla's planned initial public offering. Toyota, with the assistance of Tesla, built 35 converted RAV4s (Phase Zero vehicles) for a demonstration and evaluation program that ran through 2011. The lithium metal-oxide battery and other power train components were supplied by Tesla Motors.
The second generation Toyota RAV4 EV was released in September 2012. The RAV4 EV is assembled at Toyota's facility in Woodstock, Ontario along with the regular gasoline version. Tesla is building the electric powertrain at its plant at Tesla Factory in Fremont, California, and then ship them to Canada. The RAV4 EV is sold only in California, beginning with the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles/Orange County and San Diego. Production will be limited to 2,600 during the first three years. As of 31 March 2013[update], a total of 402 RAV4 EVs have been sold in the U.S.
A prototype of the Toyota iQ EV (Scion iQ EV in the US) was exhibited at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. The Scion iQ EV is the successor to the FT-EV II as an electric vehicle based on the Toyota iQ chassis. Toyota produced three generations of FT-EV concept cars, and the iQ EV is a production version of those concepts, incorporating the technological and design strengths of all three models. The exterior of the production version is based on the FT-EV III concept shown at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.
The U.S. launch of the Scion iQ EV was announced for 2012, and according to Toyota, for the initial roll-out the iQ EV would not be available to individual consumers, instead the carmaker decided to focus on fleet customers and car sharing programs. The iQ EV was scheduled to be produced at Toyota’s Takaoka Plant in Toyota City beginning in August 2012 and the initial production was planned to be limited to 600 units, with 400 staying in Japan, 100 units destined to the U.S. and the other 100 for Europe. In September 2012 Toyota announced that due to customers' concerns about range and charging time, the production of the Scion iQ (Toyota eQ in Japan) will be limited to about 100 units for special fleet use in Japan and the U.S. only. The iQ EV/eQ was scheduled to be released in both countries in December 2012.
The first 30 iQ EVs were delivered in the U.S. to the University of California, Irvine in March 2013 for use in its Zero Emission Vehicle-Network Enabled Transport (ZEV-NET) carsharing fleet. Since 2002 the ZEV-NET program has been serving the transport needs of the Irvine community with all-electric vehicles for the critical last mile of commutes from the Irvine train station to the UC campus and local business offices.
In addition, Toyota announced that is backing away from fully electric vehicles. The company's vice chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, said "The current capabilities of electric vehicles do not meet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or how it takes a long time to charge." Toyota's emphasis would be re-focused on the hybrid concept, and 21 new hybrid gas-electric models scheduled to be on the market by 2015.
In 2002 Toyota began a development and demonstration program to test the Toyota FCHV, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on the Toyota Highlander production SUV. Toyota also built a FCHV bus based on the Hino Blue Ribbon City low-floor bus. Toyota has built several prototypes/concepts of the FCHV since 1997, including the Toyota FCHV-1, FCHV-2, FCHV-3, FCHV-4, and Toyota FCHV-adv. The Toyota FCV-R fuel cell concept car was unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The FCV-R sedan seats four and has a fuel cell stack consisting of a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, with can deliver a range of 435 mi (700 km) under the Japanese JC08 test cycle. Toyota said the car was planned for launch in about 2015.
As of 2009, Toyota officially lists approximately 70 different models sold under its namesake brand, including sedans, coupes, vans, trucks, hybrids, and crossovers. Many of these models are produced as passenger sedans, which range from the subcompact Toyota Yaris, to compact Corolla, to mid-size Camry, and full-size Avalon. Vans include the Previa/Estima, Sienna, and others. Several small cars, such as the xB and tC, are sold under the Scion brand.
Toyota crossovers range from the compact Matrix and RAV4, to midsize Venza and Kluger/Highlander. Toyota SUVs range from the midsize 4Runner to full-size Land Cruiser. Other SUVs include the Land Cruiser Prado, FJ Cruiser and Fortuner.
Toyota first entered the pickup truck market in 1947 with the SB that was only sold in Japan and limited Asian markets. It was followed in 1954 by the RK (renamed in 1959 as the Stout) and in 1968 by the compact Hilux. With continued refinement, the Hilux (simply known as the Pickup in some markets) became famous for being extremely durable and reliable, and many of these trucks from as early as the late 1970s are still on the road today, some with over 300,000 miles. Extended and crew cab versions of these small haulers would eventually be added, and Toyota continues to produce them today under various names depending on the market.
Riding on the success of the compact pickups in the US, Toyota decided to attempt to enter the traditionally domestic-dominated full-size pickup market, introducing the T100 for the 1993 US model year, with production ending in 1998. While having a bed at the traditional full-size length of 8 feet, the suspension and engine characteristics were still similar to that of a compact pickup. It proved to be as economical and reliable as any typical Toyota pickup, but sales never became what Toyota brass had hoped for. It was criticized as being too small to appeal to the traditional American full-size pickup buyer. Another popular full-size truck essential, a V8 engine, was never available. Additionally, the truck was at first only available as a regular cab, though Toyota addressed this shortcoming and added the Xtracab version in mid-1995.
In 1999 for the 2000 model year, Toyota replaced the T100 with the larger Tundra. The Tundra addressed criticisms that the T100 did not have the look and feel of a legitimate American-style full-size pickup. It also added the V8 engine that the T100 was criticized for not having. However, the Tundra still came up short in towing capacity as well as still feeling slightly carlike. These concerns were addressed with an even larger 2007 redesign. A stronger V6 and a second V8 engine among other things were added to the option list. As of early 2010, the Tundra has captured 16 percent of the full-size half-ton market in the US. The all-new Tundra was assembled in San Antonio, Texas, US. Toyota assembled around 150,000 Standard and Double Cabs, and only 70,000 Crew Max's in 2007. The smaller Tacoma (which traces its roots back to the original Hilux) was also produced at the company's San Antonio facility.
Outside the United States, Toyota produced the Hilux in Standard and Double Cab, gasoline and diesel engine, 2WD and 4WD versions. The BBC's Top Gear TV show featured two episodes of a Hilux that was deemed "virtually indestructible".
As of 2009, the company sold nine luxury-branded models under its Lexus division, ranging from the LS sedan to RX crossover and LX SUV. Luxury-type sedans produced under the Toyota brand included the Century, Toyota Crown, and Toyota Crown Majesta. A limited-edition model produced for the Emperor of Japan was the Century Royal.
Toyota has been involved in many global motorsports series. They also represent their Lexus brand in other sports car racing categories. Toyota also makes engines and other auto parts for other Japanese motorsports including formula Nippon, Super GT, formula 3 and formula Toyota series. Toyota also runs a driver development programme known as TDP (Toyota Young Drivers Program) which they made for funding and educating future Japanese motorsports talent. Toyota Motorsport GmbH, with and headquarters in Cologne, Germany) was previously responsible for Toyota's major motorsports development including Formula One. Toyota Motorsport GmbH also developed cars for World Rally Championship and Le Mans Series. Toyota enjoyed success in all these motorsports categories. In 2002, Toyota entered Formula One as a constructor and engine supplier, however despite having experienced drivers and a larger budget than many other teams, they failed to match their success in other categories, with five second places their best results. On November 4, 2009 Toyota announced they were pulling out of the sport due to the global economic situation. Toyota's nationwide driver hunt of drivers for Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Series ended up with selection of 25 drivers, who will participate in the race in 2013.
Toyota Racing Development was brought about to help develop true high performance racing parts for many Toyota vehicles. TRD has often had much success with their after market tuning parts, as well as designing technology for vehicles used in all forms of racing. TRD is also responsible for Toyota's involvement in NASCAR motorsports. TRD also made Lexus's performance division "F-Sport".
Toyota is a minority shareholder in Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, having invested US$67.2 million in the new venture which will produce the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, slated for first deliveries in 2013. Toyota has also studied participation in the general aviation market and contracted with Scaled Composites to produce a proof-of-concept aircraft, the TAA-1 in 2002.
Toyota is supporter of the Toyota Family Literacy Program along with National Center for Family Literacy, helping low-income community members for education, United Negro College Fund (40 annual scholarships), National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (US$1 million) among others. Toyota created the Toyota USA Foundation.
Toyota established the Toyota Technological Institute in 1981, as Sakichi Toyoda had planned to establish a university as soon as he and Toyota became successful. Toyota Technological Institute founded the Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago in 2003. Toyota is supporter of the "Toyota Driving Expectations Program," "Toyota Youth for Understanding Summer Exchange Scholarship Program," "Toyota International Teacher Program," "Toyota TAPESTRY," "Toyota Community Scholars" (scholarship for high school students), "United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Internship Program," and "Toyota Funded Scholarship." It has contributed to a number of local education and scholarship programs for the University of Kentucky, Indiana, and others.
In 2004, Toyota showcased its trumpet-playing robot. Toyota has been developing multitask robots destined for elderly care, manufacturing, and entertainment. A specific example of Toyota's involvement in robotics for the elderly is the Brain Machine Interface. Designed for use with wheelchairs, it "allows a person to control an electric wheelchair accurately, almost in real-time", with his mind. The thought controls allow the wheelchair to go left, right and forward with a delay between thought and movement of just 125 milliseconds.
Toyota invests in several small start-up businesses and partnerships in biotechnology, including:
Toyota has been a leader in environmentally friendly vehicle technologies, most notably the RAV4 EV (produced from 1997 to 2003) and the Toyota Prius (1997 to present). Toyota is now working on their next generation Prius and second generation RAV4 EV both due out in 2012.
Toyota implemented its Fourth Environmental Action Plan in 2005. The plan contains four major themes involving the environment and the corporation's development, design, production, and sales. The five-year plan is directed at the, "arrival of a revitalized recycling-based society." Toyota had previously released its Eco-Vehicle Assessment System (Eco-VAS) which is a systematic life cycle assessment of the effect a vehicle will have on the environment including production, usage, and disposal. The assessment includes, "... fuel efficiency, emissions and noise during vehicle use, the disposal recovery rate, the reduction of substances of environmental concern, and CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the vehicle from production to disposal." 2008 marks the ninth year for Toyota's Environmental Activities Grant Program which has been implemented every year since 2000. Themes of the 2008 program consist of "Global Warming Countermeasures" and "Biodiversity Conservation."
Since October 2006, Toyota's new Japanese-market vehicle models with automatic transmissions are equipped with an Eco Drive Indicator. The system takes into consideration rate of acceleration, engine and transmission efficiency, and speed. When the vehicle is operated in a fuel-efficient manner, the Eco Drive Indicator on the instrument panel, lights up. Individual results vary depending on traffic issues, starting and stopping the vehicle, and total distance traveled, but the Eco Drive Indicator may improve fuel efficiency by as much as 4%. Along with Toyota's eco-friendly objectives on production and use, the company plans to donate US$1 million and five vehicles to the Everglades National Park. The money will be used to fund environmental programs at the park. This donation is part of a program which provides US$5 million and 23 vehicles for five national parks and the National Parks Foundation. However new figures from the United States National Research Council show that the continuing hidden health costs of the auto industry to the US economy in 2005 amounted to US$56 million.
In 2007, Toyota's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) fleet average of 26.69 mpg-US (8.813 L/100 km; 32.05 mpg-imp) exceeded all other major manufactures selling cars within the United States. Only Lotus Cars, which sold the Elise and Exige (powered by Toyota's 2ZZ-GE engine), did better with an average of 30.2 mpg-US (7.79 L/100 km; 36.3 mpg-imp).
|Calendar year||Total||Japan||United States|
Japan production numbers 1937 to 1987. Global production since 1998, global and Japanese production, Japanese sales since 2001 consolidated incl. Daihatsu and Hino.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toyota|
|Toyopet / Toyota road car timeline, Japan market, 1980–2009|
|Subcompact||Starlet KP60||Starlet KP70||Starlet KP80||Vitz P10||Vitz P90|
|Corolla II L20||Corolla II L30||Corolla II L40||Corolla II L50||Platz||Belta|
|Corsa L20||Corsa L30||Corsa L40||Corsa L50|
|Corolla FX AE82||Corolla FX AE91/92||Corolla FX AE101||Corolla RunX||Auris E150|
|Sprinter E70||Sprinter E80||Sprinter E90||Allex||Blade|
|Sprinter Trueno AE85/AE86||Sprinter Marino|
|Corolla E70||Corolla E80||Corolla E90|
|Corolla Levin E70||Corolla Levin E80||Corolla Levin AE91/92|
|Subcompact Wagon/Van||Corolla E70||Funcargo||Ractis|
|ist NPC6||ist NCP11|
|Compact||Corolla E100||Corolla E110||Corolla E120||Corolla Axio E140|
|Corona T130||Corona T150||Corona T170||Corona T190||Corona T210||Corona Premio||Premio|
|Corona EXIV||Corona EXIV|
|Celica Camry A40||Camry V10||Camry V20||Camry V30||Camry V40||Avensis||Avensis|
|Vista V10||Vista V20||Vista V30||Vista V40||Vista V50|
|Compact Wagon/VAN||Altezza Ghita|
|Carina Surf||Caldina T190||Caldina T210||Caldina T240|
|Mid-size car||Camry XV20||Camry XV30||Camry XV40|
|Windom VCV10||Windom MCV20||Windom MCV30|
|Aristo JZS147||Aristo JZS160||Mark X||Mark X|
|Mark II X60||Mark II X70||Mark II X80||Mark II X90||Mark II X100||Mark II X110|
|Mid-size sport||Chaser X60||Chaser X70||Chaser X80||Chaser X90||Chaser X100||Verossa|
|Mid-size luxury||Cresta X60||Cresta X70||Cresta X80||Cresta X90||Cresta X100|
|Mid-size wagon||Mark II X60||Mark II X70||Mark II Qualis||Mark II Blit||Mark X Zio|
|Full-size||Crown S110||Crown S120||Crown S130||Crown S130/S140||Crown S150||Crown S170||Crown S180||Crown S200|
|Celsior UCF10||Celsior UCF20||Celsior UCF30|
|Hybrid||Prius NHW10||Prius NHW11||Prius NHW20|
|Flagship car||Century VG35||Century VG40||Century GZG5x|
|Sport compact||Celica A40||Celica A60||Celica T160||Celica T180||Celica T200||Celica T230|
|Carina A40||Carina A60||Cavalier|
|Carina T150||Carina T170||Carina T190||Carina T210||Allion T240||Allion T260|
|Carina ED T160||Carina ED T180||Carina ED T200|
|Sports||Soarer Z1||Soarer Z2||Soarer Z30||Soarer Z40|
|Celica XX MA45/6/7||Celica XX MA61/3/ GA61||Supra MA70/GA70/JZA70||Supra JZA|
|Roadster||MR2 AW10/11||MR2 SW20||MR-S ZZW30|
|« previous — Toyota road car timeline, North American market, 1980s–present (model years)|
|Starlet||Corolla FX||Prius c|
|Cressida||Cressida||Cressida||Cressida||Camry Solara||Camry Solara||Prius v|
|Sport compact||Corolla GT-S|
|Sports||Celica Supra||Celica Supra||Supra||Supra|
|Toyota light truck timeline, North American market, 1980s–present (model years)|
|Land Cruiser||Land Cruiser||Land Cruiser||Land Cruiser|
|« previous — Toyota road cars timeline, 1985–present|
|Subcompact||Starlet P70||Starlet P80||Vitz XP10||Vitz XP90|
|Tercel, Corolla II, Corsa L20||Tercel, Corolla II, Corsa L30||Tercel, Corolla II, Corsa L40||Tercel, Corolla II, Corsa L50||Platz XP10||Belta XP90|
|FunCargo XP20||Ractis XP100|
|bB XP30||bB AC20|
|ist XP60||ist XP110|
|Compact||Corolla, Sprinter E80||Corolla, Sprinter E90||Corolla, Sprinter E100||Corolla, Sprinter E110||Corolla, Sprinter E120/130||Corolla, Sprinter E140/150|
|Corona T150||Corona T170||Corona T190||Corona T210||Corona Premio T240||Premio T260|
|Corona EXIV T180||Corona EXIV T200|
|Cynos L40||Cynos L50|
|Camry V10||Camry V20||Camry V30||Camry V40||Avensis T250||Avensis T270|
|Vista V10||Vista V20||Vista V30||Vista V40||Vista V50|
|Compact luxury||Altezza XE10|
|Compact Wagon/VAN||Altezza Gita XE10|
|Voltz E130||Voltz E140|
|Carina Surf T150||Carina Surf T170||Caldina T190||Caldina T210||Caldina T240|
|Mid-size car||Camry XV20||Camry XV30||Camry XV40|
|Windom XV10||Windom XV20||Windom XV30|
|Aristo S147||Aristo S160|
|Mark II, Cressida, Chaser, Cresta X70||Mark II, Cressida, Chaser, Cresta X80||Mark II, Chaser, Cresta X90||Mark II, Chaser, Cresta X100||Mark II, Verossa X110||Mark X X120||Mark X X130|
|Mid-size wagon||Mark II Qualis XV20||Mark II Blit X110|
|Camry Gracia XV20|
|Full-size||Crown S120||Crown S130||Crown S130/S140||Crown S150||Crown S170||Crown S180||Crown S200|
|Celsior XF10||Celsior XF20||Celsior XF30|
|Hybrid||Prius NHW10||Prius NHW11||Prius NHW20|
|Limousine||Century G40||Century G50|
|Sport compact||Celica A60||Celica T160||Celica T180||Celica T200||Celica T230|
|Carina T150||Carina T170||Carina T190||Carina T210||Allion T240||Allion T260|
|Carina ED T160||Carina ED T180||Carina ED T200|
|Sports||Soarer Z10||Soarer Z20||Soarer Z30||Soarer Z40|
|Celica Supra A60||Supra A70||Supra A80|
|Roadster||MR2 AW10/11||MR2 SW20||MR-S ZZW30|
|Limited edition||Toyota Sera XY10||Toyota Classic N80||Toyota Origin XG10|
|Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Corporation, vehicle production timeline|
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