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NEWS
Toyota turns 75
Australia marks its patch as Toyota celebrates its 75th anniversaryToyota says its 75th anniversary this year has special significance in Australia, which was one of the first countries to produce Toyota vehicles outside Japan.
“It is a proud day for us to be a part of Toyota's rich history,” said Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda. “From building Toyota's first engine plant outside of Japan to becoming one of only five countries entrusted with producing hybrid cars, Toyota Australia has and will continue to play a key role in the company's growth and success.”
Toyota’s 75th anniversary celebrations are already underway around the world, including in Nagoya, where a commemorative exhibition is on display at the Toyota Automobile Museum, while the Toyota 75 exhibit on the Champs-Elysees in Paris showcases some of Toyota’s most famous models.
Toyota Motor Corporation was established in a humble Japanese mill town in 1937 and went on to build vehicles at its first manufacturing plant the following year.
Toyota now sells vehicles in more than 170 countries worldwide and this year looks set to regain the crown of world’s largest car-maker it lost to General Motors last year. In 75 years Toyota has produced more than 200 million vehicles, including household names such as Corolla, Camry and HiLux.
Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda said he is proud of the work of all Toyota employees throughout the world during the past 75 years.
“I have the most profound respect and gratitude for the efforts of all persons who were involved in developing, manufacturing and marketing Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the years,” Mr Toyoda said.
“We are determined to make our cars even better, to continue to give our customers the best possible product. This is the common goal of our 300,000 Toyota staff members worldwide.”
Toyota’s Australian history started in 1957 with private imports of the first LandCruiser for use on the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme, before the first LandCruisers were officially sold in 1959. In fact, Australia’s first LandCruiser was the second-generation 20 Series FJ25 built in open-top from in Japan from 1955 and in four-door wagon guise – fitted with an Australian-made body – two years later. FJ25 production started in Brazil in 1958, making it the first Toyota to be built outside Japan.
Toyota’s first ‘LandCruiser’ – a nameplate not applied until 1954, in a direct response to Britain’s Series I Land Rover – dates back to 1951, when the Toyota ‘Jeep’ BJ prototype was developed, based on a Jeep Willys design, at the request of the US military.
Toyota’s subsequent FJ25 was designed with more civilian appeal for export markets including Australia, where it became the first Japanese vehicle to be regularly imported.
Other key Toyota Australia milestones included the start of Tiara assembly in 1963, the start of Corona assembly in 1964, the start of Crown assembly in 1967 and the start of Corolla assembly at Port Melbourne in 1968.
Toyota Australia produced its first engines in 1978 at Altona, where production of body panels commenced in 1981, and Camry replaced Corona at the Port Melbourne Assembly Plant in 1987, before Toyota became the local market leader in 1991 – a year before it produced its one millionth vehicle in Australia.
Camry was the last car built at Port Melbourne in 1994, while Corolla became the first at Altona the following year, followed soon after by Camry.
The first Camry exports to the Middle East took place in 1996 and Toyota opened its new national sales and marketing HQ in Sydney in 2000 – a year before Toyota exported its 100,000th Camry to the Middle East.
Toyota Australia built its new corporate HQ in Melbourne in 2004 – the same year it notched up 300,000 exports. A year later, the 500,000th vehicle was shipped and Toyota Oz built its 10 millionth Camry.
A new annual export record of 97,688 was set in 2007 – the same year the 10th generation Corolla arrived – and Toyota set an all-time sales record of 238,983 vehicles in 2008.
2010 saw Toyota Australia produce its first petrol-electric model, the Camry Hybrid, while all-new models released in its 75th year include the hotly anticipated 86 sports coupe and the Prius c and Prius v hybrids.
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