ny was founded by Sakichi as a textile concern, named Toyoda Automatic Loom. Kiichiro, as well the majority of the board members of the company, were reluctant to try to enter the automobile manufacturing market because Ford and General Motors essentially controlled the market. However, in light of his father's request Kiichiro committed himself to the task, and was able to convince the board, to begin an automobile department within the company in 1933 (Hoover's Handbook of World Business, 1995).
Due to a series of political and economic changes in Japan, protectionist legislation was enacted that essentially pushed General Motors and Ford out of the Japanese market by 1939. The gap in the market created the necessary space for the production to greatly increase. However, the capital necessary for such a venture was lacking. For this reason, Toyota Motor Company was incorporated as a separate entity to attract investors; (the name was changed to set it apart from the original company and for the purpose of clarity in spoken Japanese (Hoover's Handbook of World Business, 1995). The company prospered until the advent of World War II, and the 5 years immediately following the war.
In 1950, the company restructured and made its sales division into a separate company. The company slowly rebuilt sales, and became increasingly prosperous as the economy of Japan gained strength. By 1957, the Toyota Motor Company felt that it was ready to enter the American market with the Toyopet Crown. The car was an embarrassing failure, however, because its engine proved to be too small to bring the car up a hill to the showroom floor. The failure caused Toyota to disappear from the American market for almost eight years. However, in 1968, soon after its reappearance in America, Toyota introduced the Corolla subcompact -- currently the best selling car of all time (Hoover's Handbook of World Business, 1995).
Toyota has followed both cos...