[This is a sponsored article with UMW Toyota.]
Ask anybody about Toyota, and the phrase “dependable” will seemingly come up.
Whether or not it’s a Corolla that’s been handed down from their dad and mom or a Hilux that’s travelled throughout harsh terrains, Toyota’s automobiles have earned a popularity for his or her sturdiness.
However lengthy earlier than the highly effective engines and meeting traces, Toyota was in a very completely different commerce—textiles.
Sure, the identical firm that gave us the Camry and Supra, as soon as specialised in making computerized looms.
From weaving looms to vehicle engines
Toyota’s story started in Nineteenth-century Japan with Sakichi Toyoda, a self-taught inventor who was devoted to creating work extra environment friendly.
Rising up in a rural farming village, Sakichi noticed his mom’s struggles with guide weaving, so he began designing machines to assist her. From 1890 as much as 1924, he got here up with varied sorts of weaving looms till he landed on a golden concept, the Toyoda Automated Loom, Sort G.
On the time, the Sort G was a revolutionary invention as a result of it may cease itself when a thread broke, which saved helpful manufacturing time and material wastage.
The machine turned a world success, and Sakichi offered the loom’s patent rights to British agency Platt Brothers & Co. for £100,000 in 1929.
This marked the start of the corporate’s transition from textiles to cars.
Very like his father Sakichi, Kiichiro Toyoda was additionally a visionary. After finding out manufacturing strategies overseas, he noticed Japan’s potential to construct its personal automobiles and was on a mission to perform simply that.
In 1933, Kiichiro arrange an Automotive Manufacturing Division underneath Toyoda Automated Loom Works. Two years later, the corporate constructed its first engine known as the Mannequin A engine, and subsequently the Mannequin GA truck and Mannequin AA passenger automotive.
Because the Automotive Manufacturing Division grew and made extra developments, the group established Toyota Motor Co., Ltd in 1937.
Enjoyable truth: The title “Toyota” was chosen for the corporate in 1936 after a emblem designing competitors which noticed 27,000 entries submitted. A part of the rationale they went with “Toyota” as a substitute of “Toyoda” is as a result of its Japanese characters have been visually much less cluttered.
The philosophy that formed Toyota’s international success
Quick ahead to the current day, the Toyota model is now synonymous with high quality, effectivity, and innovation.
A lot of this may be attributed to Toyota’s core philosophy since its loom-weaving days: Kaizen.
Kaizen (which interprets to “change for the higher”) is a precept that drives the organisation at each degree. Whether or not you’re within the boardroom or a part of the manufacturing unit ground group, Toyota’s workers are inspired to continually work in direction of enchancment.
This philosophy gave rise to the favored Toyota Production System (TPS) that’s now taught in faculties worldwide. Its core pillars are:
- Jidoka (or “automation with a human contact”), the idea of pausing manufacturing the second irregularities seem to forestall extra faulty merchandise.
- Simply-In-Time (JIT), the idea of synchronising manufacturing to provide solely what’s wanted, when it’s wanted, in the proper amount.
The continual pursuit of those two pillars is what offers Toyota its aggressive energy and distinctive benefits.
The agency’s method to regular, deliberate development started after World Battle II when Japan’s economic system was rebuilding. The corporate targeted on perfecting home manufacturing earlier than increasing abroad to key international markets like Australia, North America, and the UK.
Within the a long time that adopted, Toyota additionally established markets throughout the globe, every adhering to the TPS to make sure uniform high quality. This mannequin helped Toyota acquire worldwide belief, ultimately turning into the world’s largest automaker by gross sales in 2008.
Past manufacturing effectivity, Toyota’s edge additionally comes from its long-standing dedication to innovation. Within the late Nineteen Nineties, it launched the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid automotive. The daring transfer set a brand new customary for sustainable mobility and cemented Toyota’s popularity as a forward-thinking model.
A global icon identified for its reliability
In its 88 years, Toyota has earned a popularity for producing dependable automobiles. This isn’t from mere buyer testimonials, however that popularity has been actually put to the check by specialists.
Throughout a now-famous Top Gear episode, the hosts tried varied methods to destroy a Toyota Hilux. They crashed it into partitions, set it on fireplace, even sank it within the sea. But, the pickup truck survived each single try, cementing Toyota’s legendary sturdiness in popular culture.
This identical give attention to precision and enchancment retains Toyota on the prime of worldwide charts. Reuters reported that the model offered 10.8 million automobiles in 2024, solidifying its spot because the world’s best-selling automaker for the fifth consecutive 12 months.
Other than being a every day driver, Toyota’s motorsport division, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), presents motorsport fans entry to high-performance automobiles.
In actual fact, TGR has been making a reputation for itself for a few years. For instance, at this 12 months’s 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the GR Supra GT4 Evo2 completed in twenty ninth place whereas the GR Yaris completed in 52nd place.
Toyota’s affect extends past its personal model too. It holds main stakes in Subaru (20%), Mazda (5%), and Suzuki (4.94%), whereas wholly proudly owning Daihatsu and Lexus.
Nonetheless embodying the kaizen spirit, Toyota is investing billions in hybrid, hydrogen, and electrical car (EV) applied sciences. It’s even reported that the automotive firm goals to develop 15 EV fashions by 2027, in addition to produce 1 million automobiles yearly by then.
It’s a pure evolution for a agency that started by rethinking looms. And in the present day, Toyota continues to rethink what mobility can imply.
Featured Picture Credit score: Noriaki Mitsuhashi from N-RAK PHOTO AGENCY
