[3] During this time his cousin Kiichiro established an automobile plant at the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in the city of Nagoya in central Japan.

In 1938, Kiichiro asked Eiji to oversee construction of a newer factory about 32 km east of Nagoya on the site of a red pine forest in the town of Koromo, later renamed Toyota City.

[3] Due to this experience, Toyoda decided to adopt American automobile mass production methods but with a qualitative twist.

[5] They also fine-tuned the concept of Kaizen, a process of incremental but constant improvements designed to cut production and labor costs while boosting overall quality.

[5] In his later years, Toyoda was hospitalised for hip problems, and needed to use a wheelchair for a time, yet remained affable and enjoyed tackling sudoku puzzles.

[7][8] Paying tribute to Toyoda, David Cole, former chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, said "He was a real visionary and inspirational leader who understood what it would take to make Toyota a successful company.