Unforgettable Car Geniuses: Kiichiro Toyoda

“Qualis pater talis filius” — “Like father, like son”, the Latins used to say, to emphasize the value a father can pass on to his son. In the case of Sakichi Toyoda, nicknamed in the 1920s the father of the Japanese industrial revolution for his inventions in the textile sector, the legacy lived on through his son Kiichiro. Combining his father’s talent for inventing fully automatic weaving machines with his own intuition about a major emerging opportunity — the automobile — Kiichiro forged a new path. During his travels in England and the United States, the young Japanese man, gifted with extraordinary mechanical skills, gave a double twist to the family business: he sold the patent for the new Toyoda Type G automatic loom to the British — long-time leaders in the textile field — and used the funds to create a new division of the company dedicated to studying and eventually producing automobiles. That was in 1933, and in this field, his reference point was America. After purchasing a Chevrolet, he set to work with a team of engineers — he was an engineer himself — meticulously studying American production processes and engine technology, embodying the precision that defines Japanese culture.

In 1934, Kiichiro and his team presented an experimental gasoline engine to Toyoda’s shareholders and convinced them to finance an entire separate automotive division. Just a year later, Kiichiro and his team produced a passenger car called the “Model A1”.

After launching a prototype in 1935, the A1, Kiichiro Toyoda’s dream became reality a year later when the Model AA was unveiled to the public.

With production beginning on a small scale, the vehicles bore the name of the Toyoda textile machinery company. But growth was swift: just a few months later, a small truck was introduced — the Toyoda Model G1 — built on an extended version of the A1’s chassis, with a completely original body. It was so successful that it was even exported abroad. During those early years, the Model AA and the Model DA bus were also created: it was the beginning of the success story we know so well today. Recognizing this rapid growth, Kiichiro Toyoda realized it was time to make the automotive arm a standalone company rather than a division of the family firm. It was then that he changed the name of the cars to “Toyota.” The reason — a pleasantly romantic one — was that the new name required eight brushstrokes to write, a lucky number in Japanese culture, and was visually simpler as well. The new name was registered as a trademark in 1936, and Toyota Motor Corporation was officially registered independently from Toyoda Loom Works a year later.

In 1958 the Crown became the first Japanese passenger car to be exported to the United States, and also started Toyota’s passenger car exports to Europe in 1962.

The construction of Toyota’s first major plant in Koromo inspired Kiichiro Toyoda to introduce innovations that would revolutionize the entire automotive industry: production lines fed just in time, with enormous savings thanks to minimal stock and storage needs. This was the famed Toyota Production System, now adopted worldwide. The devastating war that left Japan in ruins, and the postwar restrictions placed on automotive manufacturing, did not dampen Toyota’s resolve to rebuild. Kiichiro took a bold risk, investing heavily in an automated production system — now universally known as the Toyota Production System — which doubled production capacity and significantly improved quality. This paved the way for the success of the Toyopet Crown in 1955: the first fully Japanese-designed and built sedan, and the first Japanese car exported to the United States. Kiichiro’s dream of creating a national car had finally come true. It was a short-lived joy: at just 57 years of age, he died from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1952. But his vision and legacy never ceased, and they helped make Toyota the global leader it is today.

A decade after the death of its founder, Kiichiro Toyoda, the Japanese company continued to grow, offering a complete range of vehicles.