Toyota

In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented the Toyoda Model G Automatic loom. The principle of jidoka, which means the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, later became a part of the Toyota Production System. Looms were built on a small production line. In 1929, the patent for the automatic loom was sold to the British company Platt Brothers, generating the starting capital for automobile development.

Under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works established an Automobile Division on September 1, 1933, and formally declared its intention to begin manufacturing automobiles on January 29, 1934. A prototype Toyota Type A engine was completed on September 25, 1934, with the company's first prototype sedan, the A1, completed the following May. However, the government strongly prioritized the development of trucks, so the company then concentrated on the G1 truck. The G1 truck was completed on August 25, 1935, and debuted on November 21 in Tokyo, becoming the company's first production model. Modeled on a period Ford truck, the G1 chassis sold for ¥2,900, ¥200 cheaper than the Ford truck. A total of 379 G1 trucks were ultimately produced.

In April 1936, Toyoda's first passenger car, the Model AA, was completed. The sales price was ¥3,350, ¥400 cheaper than Ford or GM cars. The company's plant at Kariya was completed in May. In July, the company filled its first export order, with four G1 trucks exported to northeastern China. On September 19, 1936, the Japanese imperial government officially designated Toyota Automatic Loom Works as an automotive manufacturer.

Vehicles were originally sold under the name "Toyoda" (トヨダ), from the family name of the company's founder, Kiichirō Toyoda. In September 1936, the company ran a public competition to design a new logo. Of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was the three Japanese katakana letters for "Toyoda" in a circle. …

In 1950, Toyota was split into Toyota Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Sales Co. (sales arm of Toyota); the two companies merged in 1982 to create one unified company, with then-Toyota Motor Co. President Eiji Toyoda becoming chairman. Chairmen listed prior to 1982 below were for the pre-merger Toyota Motor Co. only.

Similar to the chairman position, in 1982 the then-Toyota Motor Sales Co. President Shoichiro Toyoda becoming President. President's listed prior to 1982 below were for the pre-merger Toyota Motor Co. only.

Toyota officially lists approximately 70 different models sold under its namesake brand, including sedans, coupes, vans, trucks, hybrids, and crossovers. Many of these models are produced as passenger sedans, which range from the subcompact Toyota Yaris, compact Corolla, to mid-size Camry and full-size Crown. Minivans include the Innova, Alphard/Vellfire, Sienna, and others. Several small cars, such as the xB and tC, were sold under the Scion brand.

Toyota SUV and crossover line-up grew quickly in the late 2010s to 2020s due to the market shift to SUVs . Toyota crossovers range from the subcompact Yaris Cross and C-HR, compact Corolla Cross and RAV4, to midsize Harrier/Venza and Kluger/Highlander. Other crossovers include the Raize, Urban Cruiser. Toyota SUVs range from the midsize Fortuner to full-size Land Cruiser. Other SUVs include the Rush, Prado, 4Runner, and Sequoia.

Toyota first entered the pickup truck market in 1947 with the SB that was only sold in Japan and limited Asian markets. It was followed in 1954 by the RK (renamed in 1959 as the Stout) and in 1968 by the compact Hilux. With continued refinement, the Hilux (simply known as 'the Pickup' in some markets) became famous for being extremely durable and reliable. Extended cab and crew cab versions were eventually added, and Toyota continues to produce them today under various names depending on the market in various cab lengths, with gasoline or diesel engines, and 2WD and 4WD versions.

In North America, the Hilux became a major model for the company, leading the company to launch the Tacoma in 1995. The Tacoma was based on the Hilux, but with a design intended to better suit the needs of North American consumers who often use pickup trucks as personal vehicles. The design was a success and the Tacoma became the best-selling compact pickup truck in North America.

After the success of its compact Hilux pickups in North America, Toyota decided to enter the full-size pickup truck market, which was traditionally dominated by domestic automakers. The company introduced the T100 for the 1993 US model year. The T100 had a full-size 8-foot (2.4 m) long bed, but suspension and engine characteristics were similar to that of a compact pickup. …

Toyota is the world's leader in sales of hybrid electric vehicles, one of the largest companies to encourage the mass-market adoption of hybrid vehicles across the globe, and the first to commercially mass-produce and sell such vehicles, with the introduction of the XW10 Toyota Prius in 1997. The company's hybrid technology is called Hybrid Synergy Drive, and it was later applied to many vehicles in Toyota's product lineup, starting first with the Camry and the technology was also brought to the luxury Lexus division.

As of January 2020, Toyota Motor Corporation sells 44 Toyota and Lexus hybrid passenger car models in over 90 countries and regions around the world, and the carmaker has sold over 15 million hybrid vehicles since 1997. The Prius family is the world's top-selling hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle nameplate with almost 4 million units sold worldwide as of January 2017.

In 2002, Toyota began a development and demonstration program to test the Toyota FCHV, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on the Toyota Highlander production SUV. Toyota also built a FCHV bus based on the Hino Blue Ribbon City low-floor bus. Toyota has built several prototypes/concepts of the FCHV since 1997, including the Toyota FCHV-1, FCHV-2, FCHV-3, FCHV-4, and Toyota FCHV-adv. The Toyota FCV-R fuel cell concept car was unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The FCV-R sedan seats four and has a fuel cell stack including a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, which can deliver a range of 435 mi (700 km) under the Japanese JC08 test cycle. Toyota said the car was planned for launch in about 2015.

In August 2012, Toyota announced its plans to start retail sales of a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan in California in 2015. Toyota expected to become a leader in this technology. The prototype of its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be exhibited at the November 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, and in the United States at the January 2014 Consumer Electronics Show.

Toyota's first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to be sold commercially, the Toyota Mirai (Japanese for "future"), was unveiled at the November 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. In January 2015, it was announced that production of the Mirai fuel cell vehicle would increase from 700 units in 2015 to approximately 2,000 in 2016 and 3,000 in 2017. Sales in Japan began in December 2014. Retail sales in the U.S. …

Toyota has been involved in many global motorsports series, providing vehicles, engines and other auto parts under both the Toyota and Lexus brands.

Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) is Toyota's performance brand that is used in many of the world's major motorsports contests. Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, based in Cologne, Germany, competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, while the Finland-based Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT participates in the FIA World Rally Championship. Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa competes in the Dakar Rally. Between 2002 and 2009, the Toyota Racing team competed in Formula One. Toyota won the highest class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 5 consecutive times from 2018 to 2022, competing with the Toyota TS050 Hybrid and Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

Toyota Racing Development USA (TRD USA) is responsible for participation in major motorsports contests in the United States including NASCAR, NHRA, Indy Racing League and Formula Drift.

Toyota also makes engines and other auto parts for other Japanese motorsports including Super Formula, Super GT, Formula 3, and Toyota Racing Series.