The History of Toyota Cars

The Toyota story begins 1929 when inventor Sakichi Toyoda sold to the British his patent for an automatic loom for 1 million yen. This money was the initial investment for what later became the Toyota Motor Company. Toyoda's son, Kiichiro began researching small gasoline powered engines in 1930 and by 1936 the first major auto is produced, the AA Sedan. Before this, however, there were some basic military applications as the Japanese government was relying on foreign trucks for their wars. During the depression though, the reliance on domestic goods increased, thus giving Toyota the initial push it needed for establishment.

Wholesale production of private cars didn't really begin in full earnest until after World War II. By the end of 1945, the US Government had given Toyota permission to begin production. The first major line to leave the factories was the Toyopet; a small, cheap car that had a low top speed but was rugged enough to withstand the rough roads of post-war Japan. Along with this, there was also production of a civilian trucked named the Land Cruiser, which were styled like jeeps.

Toyota first came to America in 1957 with the opening of the first car dealership near San Francisco. Initially, only the Toyopet and the Land Cruiser were available for sale and neither did well at all. Toyota wasn?t a serious competitor in the US market until 1964 when it came out with what was to become the Toyota Corona. This car competed handedly with its American counterparts in comfort, speed and price. This trend continued almost unabated in the US for many years where sales in the 1960s also when from 2000 in 1964 to over 300,000 by 1971.

The first foreign plant was opened by Toyota in 1959 in Brazil and one didn't open in the US until 1985. Until then, all Toyota cars in the US were imported. By the time this facility opened, sales of Camry's and Corolla's were brisk. In 1989, Toyota entered the US luxury car market with the Lexus. It was an instant success for its price and quality and that no other manufacturer was able to maintain a high quality luxury car at the time.

By the 21st century, Toyota has become one of the largest auto manufacturers in the world and is extremely cutting edge. Selling nearly 2 million of the Prius around the globe, Toyota is on the cutting edge of automotive technology. The company has no where to go but up as everything they do, they do with a global outlook and with their fingers on the pulse of the future.