Interesting Toyota Facts

1. The Company’s Origin

Toyota was originally known as Toyoda, named after its founder Sakichi Toyoda. A year before the company’s founding, Toyota even hosted a logo contest that included a name change. They eventually decided to switch to Toyota because in Japanese, it has eight strokes, which is associated with good luck.

2. Unrivaled Success

The city of Toyota is home to the headquarters of Toyota, a globally renowned brand in the automotive industry. Interestingly, Toyota wasn’t named after the city; it was the other way around. The company achieved unrivaled success and underwent a name change in 1959.

3. Supporting Community Efforts

Unlike other companies that supported the New York Food Bank with grants, Toyota sent its engineers to help in the kitchen. They implemented the art of “Kaizen,” which means positive change there. As a result, the soup kitchen reduced their wait time from 90 to 18 minutes.

4. Heavy-Duty Trucks in Conflict Zones

In 1987, Toyota named the “Toyota War” for its heavy-duty trucks. The Chadian military used these trucks to obliterate 33 BMP-1 infantry vehicles, 92 battle tanks, and more than 700 soldiers. Remarkably, the Chad army only lost three Toyota trucks.

5. A Global Presence

Toyota is available in more than 170 countries, with sales networks almost everywhere major cities.

6. High Resale Value

Compared to other car brands, Toyota has a high resale value due to their quality and reliability. If used well, a Toyota can serve an individual for up to 10 years, with toyotas having a resale value of more than 50% and 70% for high-end models.

7. A Record Breaking Anniversary

In 2012, Toyota broke the record for being the first auto manufacturer to make 10 million cars in a year. So far, the company has manufactured up to 300 million vehicles.

8. Past Industries

Before transitioning into car manufacturing, Toyota was initially a maker of textiles. The owner had invented automatic looms, which they sold in the 1920s.

9. Controversy and Record Breakers

In 2009 to 2011, Toyota made a massive recall for the Corollas and Camrys due to a pedal entrapment issue. This move helped save Koua Fong Lee from life imprisonment, who had been accused of killing three people in a catastrophic crash, injuring two others. In his defense, the accused claimed that the car had an issue with the accelerator.

10. Fun Facts

The MR2 model, initially named Merdeux in France due to its sound, was renamed simply the Toyota MR.