20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth
Blog

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Toyota has fans and opponents. But even the latter cannot deny that the Japanese company is one of the most important car manufacturers in history. Here are 20 interesting facts that explain how the small family workshop reached world domination.

In the beginning there was fabric

Unlike many other car companies, Toyota doesn't start out with cars, bicycles, or other vehicles. Its founder, Sakichi Toyoda, established a weaving workshop in 1890. The first decades were modest until the company invented the automatic loom in 1927, for which a patent was sold in the UK.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

His name is not really Toyota.

The family that founded the company is not Toyota, but Toyota Da. The name was changed to euphony and out of superstition - in the Japanese syllabary alphabet "katakana" this version of the name is written with eight brush strokes, and the number 8 in Eastern culture brings good luck and wealth.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Imperialism directs her to the machines

In 1930, the founder of the company, Sakichi Toyoda, died. His son Kiichiro decided to establish an automobile industry, mainly to meet the needs of the Japanese army in its wars of conquest in China and other parts of Asia. The first mass model is the Toyota G1 truck, used mainly for military purposes.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Her first car was stolen

Like many Asian manufacturers, Toyota began boldly borrowing ideas from abroad. Her first car, the Toyota AA, was actually an exact imitation of the American DeSoto Airflow - Kiichiro bought the car and took it home to be taken apart and carefully examined. AA is produced in a very limited series - only 1404 units. Recently, one of them, 1936, was discovered in a barn in Russia (pictured).

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

The Korean War saved her from bankruptcy

After World War II, Toyota found itself in a very difficult position, and even the first Landcruiser, introduced in 1951, did not significantly change this. However, the outbreak of the Korean War led to numerous orders for the US Army - truck production jumped from 300 to more than 5000 per year.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Created 365 jobs in the USA

Good working relationships with the US military prompted Kiichiro Toyoda to begin exporting cars to the United States in 1957. Today the company has created 365 jobs in the United States.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Toyota gives birth to the myth of "Japanese quality"

Initially, automakers from the Land of the Rising Sun were far from the mythical "Japanese quality" - after all, the first models exported to the United States were so incompetent that GM engineers laughed when they were disassembled. A big change came after Toyota introduced the so-called TPS (Toyota Production System) in 1953. It is based on the principle of "jidoka", which, loosely translated from Japanese, means "automated person". The idea is that each worker takes maximum responsibility and has his own cord, which can stop the entire conveyor in case of doubt in quality. Only after 6-7 years this principle will transform Toyota cars, and today it is accepted by almost all manufacturers around the world, albeit to varying degrees.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

The best-selling car in history - Toyota

In 1966, Toyota introduced its new compact family model, the Corolla, a modest car with a 1,1-liter engine that has gone through 12 generations since then and sold nearly 50 million units. This makes it the best-selling model in history, beating the VW Golf by about 10 million units. The Corolla comes in all forms – sedan, coupe, hatchback, hardtop, minivan, and more recently even a crossover.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Emperor chooses Toyota

There are several premium brands in Japan, from Lexus, Infiniti and Acura to less popular ones like Mitsuoka. But the Japanese emperor has long chosen a Toyota car, the Century limousine, for his personal transport. Now in use is its third generation, which, with a conservative design, is actually a very modern car with a hybrid drive (electric motor and 5-liter V8) with 431 horsepower. Toyota has never offered the Century in foreign markets - it is only for Japan.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

First crossover

It is possible to argue endlessly about which crossover model is the first in history - the American models AMC and Ford, the Russian Lada Niva and Nissan Qashqai claim this. The last car actually introduced the current fashion for a crossover, designed primarily for urban use. But almost two decades earlier, the Toyota RAV4 had appeared - the first SUV with the behavior of a normal car on the road.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Favorite Hollywood car

In 1997, Toyota introduced the first ever mass-produced hybrid car, the Prius. It had a rather unattractive design, boring road behavior and a boring interior. But it was also an impressive engineering feat and a requirement for environmental thinking, prompting Hollywood celebrities to line up for it. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Bradley Cooper were among the clients, and Leonardo DiCaprio once owned four (how sustainable is that a separate question). Today, hybrids are mainstream, thanks in large part to the Prius.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Silencer water

However, the Japanese do not want to rest on their laurels with the Prius. Since 2014, they have been selling an incomparably more environmentally friendly model - in fact, the first mass-produced car that has no harmful emissions other than drinking water. The Toyota Mirai is powered by hydrogen fuel cells and has already sold more than 10 units, while rivals from Honda and Hyundai remain in experimental series only.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Toyota also created Aston Martin

European emission standards have generated countless absurdities over the years. One of the funniest was the transformation of a miniature Toyota IQ into a model ... Aston Martin. To reduce the average emissions from their fleet, the British simply took the IQ, killed it with expensive leather, renamed it Aston Martin Cygnet and quadrupled the price. Naturally, sales were almost zero.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

The most expensive car company in the world

For decades, Toyota has been the car company with the highest market capitalization in the world, roughly double that of Volkswagen. The escalation of speculation in Tesla shares in recent months has changed the situation, but no serious analyst expects the current prices of the American company to remain constant. Until now, Tesla has never made an annual profit, while Toyota has consistently generated $ 15-20 billion.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

First manufacturer with over 10 million units per year

The 2008 financial crisis allowed Toyota to finally overtake GM as the world's largest automobile manufacturer. In 2013, the Japanese became the first company in history to produce over 10 million vehicles a year. Today Volkswagen ranks first as a group, but Toyota is unattainable for individual brands.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

She spends $ 1 million in research ... an hour

The fact that Toyota has been at the top for several decades is also associated with serious development. In a typical year, a company spends about $ 1 million an hour on research. Toyota currently holds over a thousand global patents.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Toyota lasts a long time

A study from a few years ago found that an astonishing 80% of all Toyota vehicles in their 20s are still in motion. Pictured above is the proud second-generation 1974 Corolla we spotted on the move in the city of Kukush this winter.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

The company is still owned by the family

Despite its colossal scale, Toyota remains the same family-owned company that Sakichi Toyoda founded. Today's CEO Akio Toyoda (pictured) is his direct descendant, like all previous bosses.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Toyota Empire

In addition to the brand of the same name, Toyota also produces cars under the names Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino and Ranz. He also owned the Scion brand, but production ceased after the last financial crisis. In addition, Toyota has 17% of Subaru, 5,5% of Mazda, 4,9% of Suzuki, participates in several joint ventures with Chinese companies and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, and has extended partnerships with BMW for joint development projects.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

There is also a Toyota city in Japan

The company's headquarters is located in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. Until the 1950s, it was the small town of Koromo. Today, 426 people live here - almost the same as Varna - and it is named after the company that developed it.

20 surprising facts behind the Toyota myth

Add a comment