Kiichiro Toyoda
Toyota
The company was originally founded as a spinoff of a machine maker started by Toyoda, Kiichiro's father. Both companies are now part of the Toyota Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the world. While still a department of Toyota Industries, the company developed its first product, the Type A Engine in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936
After World War II, Toyota benefited from Japan's alliance with the United States to learn from American automakers and other companies, which would give rise to a management philosophy that would transform the small company into a leader in the industry and would be the subject of many academic studies.
In the 1960s, Toyota took advantage of a rapidly growing Japanese economy to sell cars to a growing middle-class, leading to the development of the Corolla. The booming economy also funded an international expansion that would allow Toyota to grow. As of December 2020. Toyota was the world's first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year, a record set in 2012, when it also reported the production of its 200 millionth vehicle.
Kiichiro Toyoda
Kiichiro Toyoda was a Japanese businessman and the son of Toyoda Loom Works founder Sakichi Toyoda. His decision to change Toyoda's focus from automatic loom manufacture to automobile manufacturing created what would become Toyota Motor Corporation.