A bit of Toyota history
Submitted by Craig Hannabus on Tue, 2009-06-30 15:06.
Toyota is known for being one of the most forward thinking and innovative corporations in the world. Where did it all begin? What were the first steps Toyota took to greatness? Have a look at this nifty timeline below :
1933 - Automobile department established within textile loom maker Toyoda Automatic Loom Works -- now Toyota Industries Corp - founded by inventor Sakichi Toyoda
1935 - First vehicle, the Model G1 truck, built. First Toyota dealership established
1936 - Production starts of its first car, the Model AA
1957 - Crown becomes first passenger car made in Japan to be exported to the United States
1962 - First overseas vehicle plant, in Brazil
1964 - First Asian vehicle plant outside Japan, in Thailand
972 - Cumulative production in Japan reaches 10 million vehicles
1984 - Toyota's first U.S. car assembly plant, a joint venture with General Motors Corp. (GM.N), opens in California
1989 - Toyota launches luxury Lexus brand in North America
1992 - First European car plant begins production in Britain
1997 - Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid car, launched
1998 - Toyota takes majority stake in mini vehicle maker, Daihatsu Motor Co.
1999 - 100 millionth Toyota vehicle produced in Japan
2001 - Toyota takes majority stake in truck maker Hino Motors Ltd
2003 - Toyota makes 6.78 million vehicles and overtakes Ford Motor Co in annual sales to become world No.2 behind General Motors
2005 - Toyota takes minority stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, maker of Subaru cars, for cooperation in vehicle technology development and use of its U.S. factory
2006 - Toyota takes minority stake in truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd to beef up diesel engine technology
2006 - Toyota's group global sales of 8.808 million vehicles exceeds GM's by 128,000, making it the world's biggest automaker, authoritative industry magazine Automotive News says. (This figure excludes cars made by a Chinese joint venture in which GM holds a minority stake)
Toyota has come a long way. From making looms to top of the range cars, it's been quite a journey. Hope you've enjoyed the ride.
Source: Reuters
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May 1995 saw a complete testking 70-647 redesign for the Corolla. External differences from the E100 series were obvious. Evolutionary technological improvements continued, however, and in 1998, for the first time, some non-Japanese Corollas received the new 1ZZ-FE engine. The new engine was the testking 70-536 first in a Toyota to have an aluminum engine block and aluminum cylinder heads, which made this generation lighter than the E100 Corolla. The model range began to change as Toyota decided styling differences would improve sales in different markets. In North America, the E110 had front and rear styling unique to testking 642-436 its home country, whilst Europe and Australasia received versions of their own as well.
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