The Complete Guide To Toyota Cars
With humble beginnings in Japan, Toyota has become one of the most renowned car brands in the world. With a lineup of cars that includes hatchbacks like the Corolla and utility vehicles like the Hilux, Toyota cars offer something for everyone. More recently, Toyota has developed some of the first main stream electric and hybrid cars, including the Prius and RAV4.
In this guide to Toyota, we will learn about the history of Toyota and discover the many models available in its range.
The History Of Toyota
Did you know that Toyota started as a weaving company in Japan?
Sakichi Toyoda invented the world’s first automatic loom under his company Toyoda, which reduced defects and increased yields. This impressed the Platt Brothers in England, who bought the rights to the product. Toyoda invested the proceeds of this sale in his son to develop the company’s first passenger car in 1936. The Model AA paved the way for the birth of the Toyota Motor Company as we know it today.
What Does Toyota Mean?
Originally, the company was called Toyoda after the surname of its founder. However, in Japanese, “Toyoda” means “fertile rice paddies”, so the motor division quickly changed its name to avoid any association with old-fashioned farming.
Toyota was chosen because it used just eight brush strokes in Japanese – トヨタ. Eight is considered a lucky number in Japan, so the name was adopted and it stuck!
Who is Toyota owned by?
Toyota Motor Corp. still owns Toyota. The company also now owns Lexus and has a stake in Subaru and Suzuki, so Toyota cars are joint-owned by all subsidiaries.
The ownership split for Toyota is:
- Toyota Industries cross-owns 8.28%
- Subaru Corporation cross-owns 3.17%
- Denso cross-owns 3.12%
- Mazda cross-owns 0.25%
- Suzuki cross-owns 0.2%
The Toyoda family still maintains majority control to this day.
The only known surviving example of Toyota’s first car, The Model AA
Are all Toyotas made in Japan?
Most Toyota vehicles are still manufactured in Japan. There are sixteen Toyota manufacturing plants in Japan, including thirteen in Toyota City, one in Kyushu, one in Hokkaido, and one in northern Honshu.
However, Toyota also manufactures in other countries including USA, Canada, Mexico, UK, France, Turkey, and South Africa.
How do you tell if a Toyota is made in Japan?
To identify where your Toyota car was made, you can check the VIN number. VINs that start with “J” were produced in Japan.
Toyota Factory in Japan
Toyota Car Models
Toyota has an extensive lineup of vehicles. From small city cars like the Aygo to larger work trucks like the Hilux, Toyota produces around 10 million cars every year.
Some of the most popular Toyota cars in the UK include:
Toyota Aygo
The Toyota Aygo was introduced in Europe in 2005. It is a stylish-looking city car that is cheap to run and not expensive to buy.
Toyota Aygo
Toyota Yaris
The Toyota Yaris is a compact car introduced in 1999. It is economical on fuel and now also offers a hybrid option, which is more expensive to buy but more economical in the long run.
Toyota Yaris
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is another compact car by Toyota known for its fuel efficiency and reliability. The Corolla is the second best-selling car in the world with 1.64 million sold in 2023.
Toyota Corolla
Toyota C-HR
Designed for Europe, the C-HR is a coupe-styled SUV. The second generation C-HR is now a fully electric range
Toyota C-HR
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a small hatchback hybrid car. It was launched in 1997 and was the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car.
Toyota Prius
Toyota Land Cruiser
The spacious Toyota Land Cruiser is part of Toyota’s range of 4 wheel drive cars. It is considered a reliable and capable 4×4.
Toyota Land Cruiser
Toyota Hilux
The Toyota Hilux is a heavy-duty pickup truck famed for its robustability. It is a good towing vehicle with good resale value.
Toyota Hilux
Toyota Electric Cars
As the first company in the world to mass produce a hybrid petrol-electric car, it’s unsurprising that Toyota has a wide range of all-electric and hybrid cars. Customers can choose an all-electric or hybrid model of the following vehicles:
- RAV4
- Camry
- bZ4X
- Prius
- Corolla
- Venza
- Yaris
- Proace Electric
- Sienna
Toyota RAV4
Buy A Toyota
If you are looking to buy a Toyota, Hofmann’s of Henley has a range of models for sale. All of our cars pass 150-point, stringent inspections, so you can be sure they are reliable.
Browse our collection of Toyota cars for sale at Hofmann’s today.
