The third largest
vehicle manufacturer in the world, building one
car every
20
seconds and with a
cumulative global output of nearly 100 million
vehicles.
The company's origins stretch back as far as 1918 when Sakichi Toyoda
invented an automatic weaving loom which revolutionised the Japanese
weaving industry. Toyoda's son, Kiichiro Toyoda sold his father's
patent to a British company and used the proceeds to invest in the
upcoming industry of automotive manufacture. In 1936 Toyota launched their
first production passenger car and within 12 months this became the sole
trade of the company, which was renamed the Toyota Motor Company.
Toyota started exporting its vehicles in 1950, and by 1959 they opened
their first factory outside Japan. Today they are the 7th largest
company in the world, with interests in construction, ship building and
telecommunications as well as motor vehicles.
Truly a global
mega-corporation,
they have assembly lines in 26 countries around the
world covering Europe, North and South America and Asia, and annual
turnover exceeds $100 billion.