History of Toyota

[1] Kiichiro Toyoda had traveled to Europe and the United States in 1929 to investigate automobile production and had begun researching gasoline-powered engines in 1930.

[2] Kiichiro Toyoda seized this opportunity to establish the Automotive Production Division on September 1, 1933, and began preparing to build prototype vehicles.

Early vehicles bear a striking resemblance to the Dodge Power Wagon and 1930's Chevrolet, with some parts actually interchanging with their American originals.

[2] Although the Toyota Group is best known today for its cars, it is still in the textile business and still makes automatic looms, which are now computerized, and electric sewing machines which are available worldwide.

With the Japanese economy modernizing and expanding during the 1930s, both Ford and GM had built factories in Japan where vehicles were imported from America in knock down kits and assembled locally.

The strike was resolved by an agreement that included layoffs and pay reductions but also the resignation of the president at the time, Kiichiro Toyoda.

[13] The first Toyotas sent to Europe were two Toyopet Tiaras sent to Finland for evaluation in June 1962, but no sales followed, although the importer introduced the cars to the press in October the same year.

For Toyota, these were attributed mainly to slow sales of its Tundra pickup, as well as shortages of its fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Prius, Corolla and Yaris.

In response, the company announced plans to idle its truck plants, while shifting production at other facilities to manufacture in-demand vehicles.

[16][17][18][19] In January 2010, Toyota suspended sales of eight recalled vehicle models to fix accelerator pedals with mechanical problems that could cause them to become stuck.