20 surprising facts behind the Toyota name

Toyota has both 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 once small family-owned workshop gained world domination.

1 In the beginning there was cloth

Unlike many other car companies, Toyota did not start out with cars, bicycles, or other vehicles. The founder of the company, Sakichi Toyoda, established it in 1890 as a workshop for looms.

The first decades were modest, until the company invented the automatic loom in 1927, which was patented in the UK.

2 Not really Toyota

The family that founded the company is not Toyota, but Toyota. The name was changed not only for reasons of good sound, but from traditional belief. In the Japanese syllabary “katakana”, this version of the name is written with eight strokes, and the number 8 in Eastern culture brings good luck and wealth.

3 Imperialism will repurpose family businesses

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

4 The first car was a copy

Like many Asian manufacturers, Toyota began to boldly borrow ideas from abroad. Her first car, the Toyota AA, was actually a complete imitation of the American DeSoto Airflow.

DeSoto Airflow 1935

Toyota AA

Kiichiro bought the car and took it home to be taken apart and carefully examined. AA left the assembly shop in a very limited series - only 1404 units. Recently, one of them, 1936, was found in a Russian barn (pictured).

5 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 the situation. However, the outbreak of the Korean War led the American government to place a huge military order. Truck production has grown from 300 per year to over 5000.

6 Creates 365 jobs in the United States.

Good working relations with the American army led Kiichiro Toyoda to start exporting cars to the United States in 1957. Today the company provides 365 jobs in the United States, although despite President Trump's efforts, they are being relocated to Mexico.

7 Toyota gives birth to Japanese quality

In the beginning, automakers in the Land of the Rising Sun were far from the iconic "Japanese quality". In fact, the first models exported to the United States were so improperly assembled that when one was taken apart, GM engineers laughed. The radical change occurred after Toyota introduced the so-called TPS (Toyota Production System) in 1953. It revolves around the principle of "jidoka", which in Japanese means "automated person."

The idea is that each worker in the assembly shop takes maximum responsibility and has their own button that can stop the entire conveyor in case of doubt about the quality of the part. Only 6-7 years later, this principle changes Toyota cars. Today, this principle, to one degree or another, has its application in the workshops of almost all manufacturers around the world.

8 The best-selling car in history is Toyota

In 1966, Toyota unveiled its new compact family model, the Corolla, a humble 1,1-liter car that has gone through 12 generations since then. Almost 50 million units have been sold.

This fact makes the car the best-selling model in history, with about 10 million units ahead of the popular VW Golf. Corolla exists in all body types - sedan, coupe, hatchback, hardtop, minivan, and recently even a crossover has appeared.

9 The 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 personal transport.

The third generation is now in use. Despite the rather conservative design, the model is a very modern car with a hybrid drive (electric motor and 5-liter V8) and 431 hp. from. Toyota has never offered the Century in overseas markets - it is for Japan only.

10 First crossover?

We can argue endlessly about which of the crossover models is the first in history - the American models AMC and Ford, the Russian Lada Niva and Nissan Qashqai claim this.

The latter brand actually presented a modern version of the crossover, intended primarily for urban use. But almost two decades before it came the Toyota RAV4 - the first SUV with the behavior of a regular car.

11 Hollywood's favorite car

In 1997, Toyota introduced the Prius, the first-ever production hybrid vehicle. It had a rather unattractive design, boring road behavior and a boring interior. But the model embodies an impressive engineering feat and claims to be competitively sustainable. This prompted Hollywood celebrities to line up.

Clients included Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Bradley Cooper, and Leonardo DiCaprio once owned four Prius. Today, hybrids are mainstream, thanks in large part to the Prius.

12 Let's Drink From The Muffler

However, the Japanese do not want to rest on their old laurels with priuses. Since 2014, they have been selling an incomparably more environmentally friendly model - in fact, the first mass-produced car that has no harmful emissions, and drinking water is the only waste.

The Toyota Mirai runs on hydrogen fuel cells and has sold over 10500 units. At the same time, competitors from Honda and Hyundai remain only in the experimental series.

13 Toyota also created Aston Martin

European emission standards have generated a lot of absurdities over the years. One of the funniest ones was the transformation of a miniature Toyota IQ into a model ... Aston Martin.

To reduce the average cost of their fleet, the British simply took the IQ, rebranded it and renamed it Aston Martin Cygnet, which quadrupled its price. Naturally, sales were practically zero.

14 Most expensive car company in the world

For decades, Toyota was the car company with the highest market capitalization in the world, roughly double that of Volkswagen. Escalating sales of Tesla shares in recent months have changed that, but no serious analyst expects the current prices of the American company to remain constant.

Until now, Tesla has never achieved such an annual profit, while Toyota's earnings are consistently between $ 15-20 billion.

15 First manufacturer with over 10 million units per year

The 2008 financial crisis saw Toyota finally overtake GM as the world's largest automobile manufacturer. In 2013, the Japanese became the first-ever company to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year.

Today Volkswagen ranks first as a group, but Toyota is unattainable in some brands.

16 Puts $ 1 Million in Research ... per hour

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

17 Toyota "live" long

A study from a few years ago showed that 80% of all Toyota vehicles in their 20s are still in working order. Pictured above is the proud second-generation 1974 Corolla.

18 The company is still owned by the family

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

19 Toyota Empire

In addition to its namesake brand, Toyota also produces cars under the Lexus, Daihatsu, Hino and Ranz names. He also owned the Scion brand, but was shut down after the last financial crisis.

In addition, Toyota owns 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 Japan also has a Toyota city

The company is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture. Until the 1950s, it was a small town called Koromo. Today it is home to 426 people and is named after the company that created it.