Toyota

Overview

Toyota Motor Corporation is headquartered in Japan and was founded in 1937. The Toyota Motor Corporation is comprised of a group of automotive companies including Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu, and Hino Motors. In 2010, Toyota was the largest car manufacturer in the world, according to production statistics. According to revenue statistics, Toyota is the ninth largest company in the world. In 2012 Toyota boasted that their 200 millionth vehicle had been manufactured.

Toyota entered the passenger car market with its Model AA in 1936 and has been very successful in that market. Toyota also produces the luxury car brand Lexus, which sells nine models.  Toyota now has manufacturing or assembling factories in most parts of the world, which are then sold in local markets. In the US, Toyota has 6 major assembly plants. In the American plants, larger trucks as well as hybrids are produced so that Toyota has a presence in those markets. In fact, Toyota has one of the strongest presences in the hybrid car market and was the first car manufacturer to mass-produce a hybrid car: the Prius. Toyota has sold the most hybrid vehicles out of all the car manufacturers in the world. One way Toyota has been set apart from other manufacturers is that it also provides extensive financial services to consumers through its division of Toyota Financial Services.

Toyota manufactures a broad range of vehicles, from consumer to commercial to motorsport to aerospace. Toyota Racing Development was created to develop high performance after-market tuning parts, as well as designing technology for vehicles used in  racing. In the artificial intelligence industry, Toyota showcased its trumpet-playing robot in 2004.

During the latter part of 2009 and early in 2010, Toyota encountered safety issues in many of its vehicles. The company recalled approximately  eight million vehicles all over the world. Unfortunately these recalls actually halted both sales and production of Toyota cars briefly.  This lapse in safety and reliability has somewhat changed the focus of Toyota as they have developed campaigns to address these issues with consumers.

Flagship Vehicle

Toyota Camry – the Camry has been manufactured by Toyota since 1982 and is sold in most of the car markets in the world. It was previously sold as a number of different names (ie Toyota Carina, Toyota Vista, Toyota Corona) before the name changed to the Camry. It has been a very successful full-sized sedan in the US, Canada, Australia, and some Asian markets. In 2012, it was rated as the best-selling passenger car in North America.

Pickup Trucks
Sub Compacts
Minivan
Economy/Hybrids
Full Size
Mid Size
Convertible

Conclusion

Although Toyota has garnered some negative press in recent years however, their reputation is still very respected in the car manufacturing industry, especially in the hybrid car market  Their success in motorsport has been recognized for many years.  Toyota’s lineup of vehicles is broad enough to serve all consumers looking for a vehicle, with the Camry being one of the consistently top-selling models.