Interesting Facts about Toyota

Since 1937, Toyota Motor Corporation has been one of the significant and largest automobile manufacturers in the world. You might know something about Toyota, but in this article, you will get to know about lesser-known facts that you might not know before. So, let’s start with the list of the interesting and fun facts about this Japanese-based automotive giant:

Toyota Was Founded In 1937

Toyota Motor Corporation was established as a spinoff of the Toyota Automatic Loom Works founded by Kiichiro’s father, Sakichi Toyoda. While Toyota is best known for its automobiles, it also manufactures textiles.

Toyota Started by Making Automated Looms In 1934

Toyota Motor Corporation had its roots in the textiles business when Sakichi Toyoda founded the Toyoda Model G Automatic Loom. The looms were constructed in a small production line.

Scio Was Founded In 2002

Scion is a division of Toyota, designed primarily for younger customers. However, the economic downturn led to its falling sales. In August 2016, Toyota announced to discontinue the Scion brand so that they can re-brand it as Toyota vehicles in the model year 2017.

The Toyota Prius is Sold in More Than 70 Countries and Regions

Toyota began to produce the hybrid car Prius in 1997. The Prius family went on to become the biggest-selling hybrid cars in the world, with around 5.7 million units sold.

The Toyota Supra (1978-2002)

The Toyota Supra was a sports car produced from 1978 to 2002. Its style derived from the Toyota Celica (Supra was only longer and wider than it), and sometimes people used to confuse them with each other. During the mid-1980s, Toyota stopped to call “Celica Supra” and began to call it as just “Supra,” marking its separation from the Celica. But due to falling sales in later years, Toyota officially ceased the production of Supra in 2002.

Toyota Has Created 365,000 Jobs in The United States

But as of 2018, the number has increased to 369,124 employees (consolidated).

Toyota Has Sold Nearly 75% of All the Hybrids in the US

The Toyota Prius is the top-selling hybrid car in the United States, passing the 1 million mark in 2011.

Toyota Came to America in 1957

However, Toyota’s first presence in the United States wasn’t quite promising at first. When Toyota first released the Toyopet Crown that year, the name was not accepted well due to “toy” and “pet” in its name.

Toyota’s Founder’s Name is Spelled ‘Toyoda’

So how did the “Toyota” (with a “t”) get its name? The founder of the company had the family name of Toyoda. Sakichi Toyoda started a textile business which became successful. His son and Toyota Motor Corporation founder Kiichiro decided to create a spinoff company that would devote to manufacturing automobiles.

To attract publicity, Kiichiro put up a logo-making contest. About 27,000 contestants turned up. The winning entry was a logo with the word “Toyota,” written in katakana, inside a circle. Because writing “Toyota” (with “t”) in katakana characters takes eight brushstrokes, and eight is considered a lucky number in Japan, something quite promising for the starting company.

There Are 1,506 Toyota, Scion, And Lexus Dealers in The Us

In the 2016 Consumer Reports article, Toyota ranks third on the list of “Top 5 Car Brands to Buy” in the United States. Its luxury car division Lexus tops the list. The article ranks the cars based on their reliability and performance on road tests.

It Takes a Camry V6 190 Feet of Test Track to Stop From 70mph

The Toyota Camry has been the best-selling car in the United States since 1997 (except for 2001). It has been selling well in Australia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

Toyota’s R&D Department Invests $1 Million Every Hour for Research

There is no doubt why Toyota is always inventing something great for its consumers. Toyota makes sure that it is ahead of the curve when it comes to bringing innovation and better cars on the table. Their research usually consists of creating safer, more reliable, and better automobiles.

In Japan, there is a City Named After Toyota

This giant automotive company is so influencing in the whole world, especially in Japan where it was founded that the name of the city of ‘Korona’ was changed to ‘Toyota’ in 1959 to honor the most successful business in Japan. This city is also home to several Toyota manufacturing plants.

Toyota Participates in Lots of Competitions

When it comes to the automotive industry, Toyota has always been in the list and on the top positions. Since 2002, Toyota has been the part of the world’s most prestigious racing competition known as Formula-1.

First Landcruiser Was Launched Back In 1951

The first ever series of four-wheel-drive vehicles, named Landcruiser was launched way back in 1951. Currently, it is the longest running series of this Japanese car manufacturer.

Toyota Produces a New Car Every 5 Seconds

Currently, with such a fascinating and futuristic line of production, Toyota can produce a new car every 5 seconds.

Toyota has More than 1000 Global Patents

This number is the highest as compared to most other automotive companies. If you think that their patents stop here, then this is not quite the case with Toyota Of Riverside. They are continuously developing and innovating new technologies with lots of advancements. Hence, more patents will be seen quite shortly.

Korean War Helped Toyota Rise Again

When Toyota was about to go bankrupt, the Korean War helped in boosting its economy. Toyota was making very few trucks (about 300), but because of the high transport need during the war, the numbers increased to over 5,000. All this enabled Toyota to rebuild its business and rise again with more power.

Toyota’s Cars Have Longest Lifespan

According to Statistics, about 80 percent of Toyota cars sold 20 years ago are still running fine on the roads. This is because Toyota believes in developing reliable, durable, and long-lasting vehicles that are worth the money spent by consumers. This is one of the top reasons why so many people all around the globe love Toyota. Learn these 7 Car Maintenance Tips To Extend The Life Of Your Car and get an even better experience with Toyota cars.

The Power of Toyota Tundra

In 2012. Toyota Tundra, a full-sized truck (on standard configuration), was used to tow a 68-ton space shuttle to the research center.

Toyota Mirai is the World’s First Car That Runs on Water

Toyota implemented its futuristic technology in this car that converts 50 liters of water to 5kg of hydrogen that can be used to run the car for about 300 miles. It is the world’s first full-production hydrogen fuel cell car – however, only 3,000 units have been produced and delivered worldwide.

Toyota Prius Was the First Car in The World to Have Beltless Engine

Almost everything in the Toyota Prius is replaced with electric motors including AC, water pump, steering pump, and alternator – it can be seen in the 2010 Toyota Prius.

Toyota Canada is the proud stakeholder (national sponsor) for the Special Olympics that takes place in Canada

Toyota’s annual revenue is more than that of Honda’s and Nissan’s combined

Toyota is the first automotive company to produce more than 10 million cars in just one year (2013)

Like every other fortune 500 company, Toyota also has a remarkable history that every automotive fan should know. In this book “Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Family That Created It”, Yukiyasu Togo (former chairman of Toyota USA) packs that remarkable history of Japan’s biggest automobile company in the best way! If you are a true Toyota lover and want to know about Toyota’s Production System – this is a good read.