Toyota Foundation in Toyota Motor Corporation - Essay Example

Marketing Final Paper Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is international auto manufacturer founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda. TMC has its headquarters in Aichi, Japan. Initially, TMC was a division of Toyota Automatic Loom Works, a company that belonged to Kiichiro Toyoda’s father, Sakichi Toyoda. The Japanese government had been encouraging Toyota Automatic Loom Works to engage in the production of automobiles. For this reason, Kiichiro Toyoda visited the United States and Europe in 1929 to study the production of automobiles.

In 1930, he researched about gasoline-powered engines. Through the visits to the US and Europe, and the research that he carried out, Kiichiro Toyoda gained a lot of insight and knowledge about automobile production. In 1933, the Toyota Automatic Loom Works Ltd established the Toyoda automobile department. This led to the creation TMC in 1937 as a separate and independent company, with Kiichiro Toyoda as its president (Toyota Motor Corporation 1). Before becoming a separate and independent company in 1937, TMC had already produced and sold its first standard passenger car, the AA sedan, in 1936.

TMC got its logo from a public competition held in September 1936, in which participants were required to design the best logo. Toyoda then changed its name to Toyota, trademarked its new name, and registered itself as the TMC in August 1937. TMC officially began its commercial production of vehicles at the Honsha plant in 1938. From September 1947, it sold its small sized vehicles under the name “Toyopet”. The company focused on truck production during World War 2 for the Japanese army. Japan was hit by serious financial difficulties after World War 2.

For this reason, TMC faced a financial crisis in 1949 that brought it to the brink of bankruptcy (Toyota Motor Corporation 1). During the financial crisis that the company faced, it only produced 300 trucks in 1950, and almost went out of business. To deal with the financial crisis, a consortium of banks lent TMC a loan to revamp itself. On obtaining the loan, the company began eliminating excess workers through layoffs and reduction of wages. In 1950, the company started the Toyota Motor Sales Company that lasted only until 1982 because it was merged with the TMC.

Toyota launched the Crown Deluxe, Toyopet Master, and Toyopet Crown in 1955 (Toyota Motor Corporation 1). In 1950, Kiichiro Toyoda resigned as the president of TMC. Taizo Ishida took over the company’s presidency and was credited for focusing his efforts on investing in equipment. One such example was when he led the establishment of the Motomachi plant. To gain competitive advantage, the company established a research and development facility in 1960. During the 1960s, the company won a Deming Prize for quality control, signed the declaration of labor and management, launched the Corolla, and established business partnerships with Daihatsu Motors and Hino Motors (Toyota Motor Corporation 1).

In 1974, the Toyota Foundation was launched, and in the following year, the company began prefabricated housing business. Toyota began a joint venture with General Motors in 1984, and established the New United Motor Manufacturing Company Inc. which began production of vehicles in the USA. The company established the Toyota Motor Manufacturing, USA; Toyota Motor Manufacturing, United Kingdom; and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, France in 1988, 1992, and 2001 respectively (Toyota Motor Corporation 1).

In conclusion, the Toyota Company has evolved and risen to be the great conglomerate it is today. From its humble beginnings as a loom manufacturer, the company has grown and ventured into the production of motor vehicles and robots. Today, the company makes diverse and unique vehicles that are sold all over the globe. Toyota is known for its unique management and marketing philosophy which make it the world’s number one manufacturer of automobiles.Work CitedToyota Motor Corporation. History of Toyota. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. < http://www.

toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/>