Toyota

Toyota Prius rendered in 3dsmax © Les Still

Toyota

Toyota

Toyota Motor Corporation or Toyota is a Japanese automaker and the world's largest automaker based on quarterly sales for the first time in the first quarter of 2007. The company is first based on annual sales. It also provides financial services through its division Toyota Financial Services and also creates robots besides automobiles. It is the world's eighth largest company by revenue of $179 billion in 2006. Toyota is also the world's most profitable automaker with net income of $11 billion in 2006. The company is part of Toyota Group and is its largest company. Toyota owns and operates Toyota, Lexus, Scion, and parts of Daihatsu brands, divisions and companies.

The company was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as a spinoff from his father's company Toyota Industries to create automobiles. It created, first as a department of Toyota Industries, its first product Type A engine in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936. It is headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan.

Toyota became the world's largest automaker in 2007 by selling 2.35 million vehicles in the first quarter, compared to General Motors' 2.26 million; with these sales figures, Toyota surpassed General Motors after more than 75 years at the top. Toyota plans to produce 9.4 million vehicles in 2007.

Toyota has factories all over the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets, including the Corolla. Toyota has manufacturing or assembly plants in Japan, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Brazil, and more recently Pakistan, India, Argentina, Czech Republic, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Venezuela, and the Philippines.

In 2002 Toyota started racing in Formula One with Toyota Team Europe, based in Cologne, Germany. Despite a huge investment, the team's performances have been considered average by fans and pundits alike.

In 2004, designer Mike Gascoyne was hired to help turn things around (as he had done previously at Jordan Grand Prix and Renault F1). However, due to a lack of results and a difference in opinion with the management about how the team should progress he was released from his contact early midway through the 2006 season; by 2005 the team had advanced from the midfield to infrequently challenging for the top positions. Jarno Trulli achieved two second places and one third place in the first five races of the season, helping the team to retain second position in the Constructors Championship for several races before finishing 4th in the constructors championship. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher are the team's current drivers.

For 2007, Toyota will also be supplying engines to the Williams team.

from Wikipedia

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