Kiichiro Toyoda Founder of Toyota Motors

Biography of Kiichiro Toyoda

Early Life

Kiichiro Toyoda founder of Toyota Motors was born on 11^th June, 1894 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. He was the son of Sakichi Toyoda. His father was a famous entrepreneur and an inventor. At the very early age he was a student of engineering at the university in Tokyo named University of Tokyo. He pursued a degree in the field of Mechanical Engineering. After completing his study there he moved to England for working. He worked for a textile machinery manufacturing company named Platt Brothers and Company. At that time this company was the leading manufacturer of machinery in textiles of England.

After England, he went to the United States of America. His purpose of going to the United States was to study and learn the techniques of manufacturing of American Machinery.

Return to Home

After completing his training at the United States he moved back to his home town in Japan. His father was running a manufacturing company of looms with the name Toyoda Industries Corporation. His father’s business was very much successful in locality. After returning to home he was engaged in his father’s company. He worked for the improvement of engineering of looms. He also got some patents for his invention of a carding machine.

Research in Locomotives

After inventing that card machine his morale went high and he tried to increase his research work and started researching in locomotives. His way of researching was very strange. He used to dismantle an imported motorcycle and then again reassembled it. By doing this he came to understand the feasibility of engine of a charcoal-power.

Founder of Toyota Motors

When his father died, he became the president of the company founded by his father. He had an adoptive brother who helped him financially. He continued his research on vehicles. This time his research was on a four wheeler car. He bought a car of Chevrolet and hired some of the best engineers of Japan. They did research on it by the same way he used to. They dismantled it and again reassembled it.

By the year 1934, his company launched their first designed car which was a gasoline-powered engine. His investors were also convinced by him to invest in that project. He made a prototype of that car and also tested it by himself by driving that to the graveyard of his father in 1935. He named that car as Model A1, which was an altered car containing different parts of different automobile companies.

He started the business of automobile manufacturing in the beginning of the month of July in 1935. After a year of the start of that new division of company, he changed the name of the company from Toyoda to Toyota, perceiving that it was easier to pronounce. While his family name remained same as Toyoda. In 1937, this new division of the company was successfully made and it was named as the Toyota Motors and he became its Vice President.

Toyota Motors

Toyota Motors is a multinational company of Japan in the field of automobile manufacturing. It’s headquarter is located in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. This company manufactures automobiles. AD far as ranking is concerned it is at the fourteenth number in terms of revenue earning. In 2012 it was ranked as number first in terms of production. It also became the number first automobile company that has produced more than 10 million vehicles in a calendar year. In 2013 it was ranked as number one company in terms of market capitalization.

Today this company consisted of employees more than 333,489, working throughout the world.

Later Life

He became the President of the company in 1941. In 1950, due to war there was recession in Japan and the company was almost on the verge of bankruptcy. He dismissed so many workers form the work this caused his company a huge strike by its employees and he with some other top managers were compelled to resign from the company.

Death

He also remained as the Chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan in the same year 1950. He died two years later on 27^th March 1952 in Tokyo, Japan. His son became the executive of the company after his death.