Toyota Motor Corporation was founded and incorporated on August 28, 1937, by Kiichiro Toyoda in Japan.

Quick Scoop: Toyota’s Origins

  • The company’s roots go back to Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, a textile machinery business started by Sakichi Toyoda, Kiichiro’s father.
  • An automobile division was set up inside Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1933, marking Toyota’s first formal step into car production.
  • Toyota’s first passenger car, the Model AA, appeared in 1936, just a year before the car business was spun off as an independent company.
  • In 1937, that spin-off became Toyota Motor Company (now Toyota Motor Corporation), which is the date usually given as the company’s founding year.

Tiny Timeline

  1. 1918 – Toyoda Spinning and Weaving Company is founded (textiles, not cars yet).
  1. 1933 – Automobile division created within Toyoda Automatic Loom Works.
  1. 1934–1936 – First engine (Type A) and first passenger car (Toyota AA) developed.
  1. 1937 – Toyota Motor Company is officially founded as a separate auto manufacturer.

In short, when people ask “when was Toyota founded,” the standard answer is 1937, with deeper roots in a textile company and an in-house car division from 1933.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.