105-523: Programmed Fuel Injection , or PGMFI / PGM-FI , is the name given by Honda to a proprietary digital electronic multi-point injection system for internal combustion engines . It has been available since the early 1980s. This system has been used in motorcycles , automobiles , and outboard motors . With its origins beginning with the CX500 and CX650 turbocharged motorcycles in 1982 and 1983, respectively, Honda's PGM-FI made its way into their automobiles in
210-406: A 2-day week until the end of May as the manufacturer struggled to source supplies from Japan. It's thought around 22,500 cars were produced during this period. For the fiscal year 2018, Honda reported earnings of US$ 9.534 billion, with an annual revenue of US$ 138.250 billion, an increase of 6.2% over the previous fiscal cycle. Honda's shares traded at over $ 32 per share, and its market capitalization
315-900: A 2.8% stake in Panasonic , as well as stakes in vehicle manufacturing joint-ventures in China ( FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota ), the Czech Republic ( TPCA ), India ( Toyota Kirloskar ) and the United States ( MTMUS ). Toyota is listed on the London Stock Exchange , Nagoya Stock Exchange , New York Stock Exchange and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange , where its stock is a component of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core30 indices. In 1924, Sakichi Toyoda invented
420-475: A class below the Crown and Century and offered hardtop coupes and sedans. The Supra , Mark II , Cresta and Chaser offered several trim packages with different engine displacements to provide buyers with annual road tax advantages. At the same time, sports cars like Celica , Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno sold very well. Efforts to open a Toyota assembly plant in the United States started in 1980, with
525-829: A developer studio are part of the Honda Innovations group, formed in Spring 2017 and based in Mountain View, California . Through Honda Mobilityland , Honda also operate the Suzuka Circuit and Twin Ring Motegi racing tracks. Following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Honda announced plans to halve production at its UK plants. The decision was made to put staff at the Swindon plant on
630-524: A drop in production and exports. Severe flooding during the 2011 monsoon season in Thailand affected Japanese automakers that had chosen Thailand as a production base. Toyota is estimated to have lost production of 150,000 units to the tsunami and production of 240,000 units to the floods. On February 10, 2014, it was announced that Toyota would cease manufacturing vehicles and engines in Australia by
735-627: A global recall of about 4.5 million vehicles, including 2.54 million in the U.S., over fuel pump failures, following earlier recalls in 2021 and 2020 for the same issue. Honda is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo , Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange , as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka , London , Paris, and Switzerland. The company has assembly plants around
840-785: A joint venture with local partner Astra International in 1971, and conducted significant retooling at the PT Gaya Motor assembly plant. The plant began assembling various models, including the Toyota Corona, Toyota Land Cruiser, large trucks, and the Toyota Corolla, with production surpassing 10,000 vehicles by 1973. For both countries, Toyota developed a basic utility vehicle (BUV) with the local partners to meet local needs and support technology transfers, in response to domestic production policies in Asia. The first prototype of
945-410: A leader in the development and sales of more fuel-efficient hybrid electric vehicles , starting with the introduction of the original Toyota Prius in 1997. The company now sells more than 40 hybrid vehicle models around the world. More recently, the company has also been criticized for being slow to adopt all-electric vehicles , instead focusing on the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles , like
1050-597: A long-standing partnership between Toyota and the two companies. After the successes of the 1970s, and the threats of import restrictions, Toyota started making additional investments in the North American market in the 1980s. In 1981, Japan agreed to voluntary export restraints , which limited the number of vehicles the nation would send to the United States each year, leading Toyota to establish assembly plants in North America. The U.S. government also closed
1155-671: A mechanic at the Art Shokai garage, where he tuned cars and entered them in races. In 1937, with financing from his acquaintance Kato Shichirō, Honda founded Tōkai Seiki (Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company) to make piston rings working out of the Art Shokai garage. After initial failures, Tōkai Seiki won a contract to supply piston rings to Toyota , but lost the contract due to the poor quality of their products. After attending engineering school without graduating, and visiting factories around Japan to better understand Toyota's quality control processes known as " Five whys ", by 1941 Honda
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#17327976212461260-688: A production facility in Brazil, the company's first outside of Japan. Toyota entered the United States market in 1958, attempting to sell the Toyopet Crown. The company faced problems almost immediately. The company had to confront for the first time how its name sounded to native speakers of the English language; namely, "Toyota" has the English word " toy " in its first syllable. Toyota Motor Sales, USA 's first sales administrator James F. McGraw bluntly told his new Japanese supervisors after joining
1365-511: A seat on the board of directors in 2000. Akio's promotion by the board marked the return of a member of the Toyoda family to the top leadership role for the first time since 1999. In 2011, Toyota, along with large parts of the Japanese automotive industry , suffered from a series of natural disasters. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami led to a severe disruption of the supplier base and
1470-575: A small 356 cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket. The second production car from Honda was the S500 sports car, which followed the T360 into production in October 1963. Its chain-driven rear wheels pointed to Honda's motorcycle origins. Over the next few decades, Honda worked to expand its product line, operations and exports to numerous countries around
1575-524: A vehicle. At the same time, the Japanese government heavily invested in improving road infrastructure. To take advantage of the moment, Toyota and other automakers started offering affordable economy cars like the Toyota Corolla , which became the world's all-time best-selling automobile . Toyota also found success in the United States in 1965 with the Toyota Corona compact car, which
1680-488: A white Corolla, rolled off the line at NUMMI on October 7, 1986. Toyota received its first Japanese Quality Control Award at the start of the 1980s and began participating in a wide variety of motorsports . Conservative Toyota held on to rear-wheel-drive designs for longer than most; while a clear first in overall production they were only third in production of front-wheel-drive cars in 1983, behind Nissan and Honda. In part due to this, Nissan's Sunny managed to squeeze by
1785-525: Is a Japanese multinational conglomerate that manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, and battery-powered equipment, founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda and headquartered in Minato, Tokyo , Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a production of 400 million by 19 December 2019. It is also the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became
1890-799: Is based in Alliston, Ontario . Honda has also created joint ventures around the world, such as Honda Siel Cars and Hero Honda Motorcycles in India, Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda in China, Boon Siew Honda in Malaysia and Honda Atlas in Pakistan. The company also runs a business innovation initiative called Honda Xcelerator , in order to build relationships with innovators, partner with Silicon Valley startups and entrepreneurs, and help other companies work on prototypes. Xcelerator had worked with reportedly 40 companies as of January 2019. Xcelerator and
1995-473: Is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing about 10 million vehicles per year. The company was founded as a spinoff of Toyota Industries , a machine maker started by Sakichi Toyoda , Kiichiro's father. Both companies are now part of the Toyota Group , one of the largest conglomerates in the world. While still a department of Toyota Industries, the company developed its first product,
2100-612: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was commissioned by the UK government to write a report explaining why and how the British motorcycle industry had been out-competed by its Japanese competitors. The report concluded that the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a very high scale of production (they had made a large number of motorbikes) in order to benefit from economies of scale and learning curve effects. It blamed
2205-800: The Civic GX as the greenest car in America for seven consecutive years. Honda currently builds vehicles in factories located in Japan, the United States of America, Canada, China, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Honda is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and has been since it started production in 1955. At its peak in 1982, Honda manufactured almost three million motorcycles annually. By 2006, this figure had been reduced to around 550,000 but
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#17327976212462310-713: The Fit and Accord. Honda's first hybrid electric vehicle was the 1999 Insight . The Civic was first offered as a hybrid in 2001, and the Accord followed in 2004. In 2008, the company launched the Clarity , a fuel cell car . In 2008, Honda increased global production to meet the demand for small cars and hybrids in the U.S. and emerging markets. The company shuffled U.S. production to keep factories busy and boost car output while building fewer minivans and sport utility vehicles as light truck sales fell. Its first entrance into
2415-782: The T100 (and later the Tundra ), several lines of SUVs, a sport version of the Camry , known as the Camry Solara . They would also launch newer iterations of their sports cars, namely the MR2 , Celica , and Supra during this era. In Japan, Toyota continued to cater to the growing demand for mid-level luxury cars and offered several conventional and pillared hardtops sedans at its Japanese dealership network. The Soarer , Mark II , Cresta , Chaser , Corona EXiV , and Carina ED found many buyers. At
2520-636: The Tiara . After Kiichiro's death, his cousin Eiji Toyoda led the company for the two decades. Eiji helped establish the company's first plant independent from the Loom Works plant. At the start of the 1960s, the Japanese economy was booming, a period that came to be known as the Japanese economic miracle . As the economy grew, so did the income of everyday people, who now could afford to purchase
2625-874: The Toyota Mirai , a technology that is much costlier and has fallen far behind electric batteries in terms of adoption. As of 2024 , the Toyota Motor Corporation produces vehicles under four brands: Daihatsu , Hino , Lexus and the namesake Toyota. The company also holds a 20% stake in Subaru Corporation , a 5.1% stake in Mazda , a 4.9% stake in Suzuki , a 4.6% stake in Isuzu , a 3.8% stake in Yamaha Motor Corporation , and
2730-588: The Type A engine , in 1934 and its first passenger car in 1936, the Toyota AA . After World War II , Toyota benefited from Japan's alliance with the United States to learn from American automakers and other companies, which gave rise to The Toyota Way (a management philosophy) and the Toyota Production System (a lean manufacturing practice) that transformed the small company into a leader in
2835-413: The 25% " chicken tax " on imported light trucks. By importing the truck as an incomplete chassis cab (the truck without a bed), the vehicle only faced a 4% tariff. Once in the United States, Atlas would build the truck beds and attach them to the trucks. The partnership was successful and two years later, Toyota purchased Atlas. In Southeast Asia, Toyota made efforts to establish domestic production in
2940-553: The Accord and Civic (with the exception of its USA-market 1993–97 Passport which was part of a vehicle exchange program with Isuzu (part of the Subaru-Isuzu joint venture)) have always employed Front-wheel drive powertrain implementation, which is currently a long-held Honda tradition. Honda also installed new technologies into their products, first as optional equipment, then later standard, like anti-lock brakes , speed-sensitive power steering , and multi-port fuel injection in
3045-798: The BUV was completed in January 1975. The BUV was launched as the Toyota Tamaraw in the Philippines in December 1976, and as the Toyota Kijang in June 1977. The vehicle was well received in both countries. The energy crisis of the 1970s was a major turning point in the American auto industry. Before the crisis, large and heavy vehicles with powerful but inefficient engines were common. But in
3150-579: The Camry sedan, Camry hybrid, Prius and the RAV4 during the launching event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Between 2009 and 2011, Toyota conducted recalls of millions of vehicles after reports that several drivers experienced unintended acceleration . The recalls were to prevent a front driver's side floor mat from sliding into the foot pedal well, causing the pedals to become trapped and to correct
3255-524: The Civic is the second-longest continuously running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only its perennial rival, the Toyota Corolla , introduced in 1966, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude , comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket , and it currently slots between
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3360-599: The Corolla in numbers built that year. Before the decade was out, Toyota introduced Lexus , a new division that was formed to market and service luxury vehicles in international markets. Prior to the debut of Lexus, Toyota's two existing flagship models, the Crown and Century , both catered exclusively for the Japanese market and had little global appeal that could compete with international luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz , BMW and Jaguar . The company had been developing
3465-534: The Crown went on sale in August 1955. The car was met with positive reviews from around the world. After the introduction of the Crown, Toyota began aggressively expanding into the export market; the company entered Saudi Arabia for the first time in 1955 with Land Cruisers, following an agreement reached with Abdul Latif Jameel (founder of his company of the same name ); Toyota also brought Land Cruisers into neighboring Yemen in 1956. In 1958, Toyota established
3570-414: The Philippines and Indonesia in early 1970s. In the Philippines, it partnered with local company Delta Motor Corporation . Toyota assisted Delta Motor with capital procurement and technology transfers. In 1973, Delta Motor commenced operations at a new plant, beginning local production of engine blocks for the Toyota Corona 12R engine and other parts. In Indonesia, Toyota established Toyota Astra Motor as
3675-516: The Prius. In 2001, Toyota acquired its long time partner, truck and bus manufacturer Hino Motors . In 2002, Toyota entered Formula One competition and established a manufacturing joint venture in France with French automakers Citroën and Peugeot . A youth-oriented marque for North America, Scion , was introduced in 2003. Toyota ranked eighth on Forbes 2000 list of the world's leading companies for
3780-572: The Soviet Union and the U.S., who had been allies in World War II. U.S. priorities shifted (the " Reverse Course ") from punishing and reforming Japan to ensuring internal political stability, rebuilding the economy, and, to an extent, remilitarizing Japan. Under these new policies, in 1949, Japanese automakers were allowed to resume passenger car production, but at the same time, a new economic stabilization program to control inflation plunged
3885-470: The Toyoda Model G Automatic loom . The principle of jidoka , which means the machine stops itself when a problem occurs, became later a part of the Toyota Production System . Looms were built on a small production line . In 1929, the patent for the automatic loom was sold to the British company Platt Brothers , generating the starting capital for automobile development. Under the direction of
3990-495: The Toyota Motor Company Ltd. Kiichiro's brother-in-law Rizaburo Toyoda was appointed the firm's first president, with Kiichiro as vice-president. Toyota Automatic Loom Works formally transferred automobile manufacturing to the new entity on September 29. The Japanese government supported the company by preventing foreign competitors Ford and General Motors from importing automobiles into Japan. At
4095-489: The Toyota Production System. For Toyota, the factory gave the company its first manufacturing base in North America allowing it to avoid any future tariffs on imported vehicles and saw GM as a partner who could show them how to navigate the American labor environment. The plant would be led by Tatsuro Toyoda , the younger brother of company president Shoichiro Toyoda. The first Toyota assembled in America,
4200-473: The U.S. market was a story of "miscalculation, serendipity, and organizational learning" – in other words, Honda's success was due to the adaptability and hard work of its staff, rather than any long-term strategy. For example, Honda's initial plan on entering the US market was to compete in large motorcycles, around 300 cc. Honda's motorcycles in this class suffered performance and reliability problems when ridden
4305-587: The US to suspend production in its factories. It resumed automobile, engine and transmission production at its US plants on 11 May 2020. Honda and General Motors announced in September 2020 a North American alliance to begin in 2021. According to The Detroit Free Press, "The proposed alliance will include sharing a range of vehicles, to be sold under each company's distinct brands, as well as cooperation in purchasing, research and development, and connected services." In 2021, Honda announced its intention to become
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4410-518: The US. Honda power equipment includes: Toyota Toyota Motor Corporation ( Japanese : トヨタ自動車株式会社 , Hepburn : Toyota Jidōsha kabushikigaisha , IPA: [toꜜjota] , English: / t ɔɪ ˈ j oʊ t ə / , commonly known as simply Toyota ) is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi , Japan . It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota
4515-476: The United States and Canada due to an issue with seat belts in the car not latching correctly. Among the models recalled were the 2017-2020 CR-V, the 2018 and 2019 Accord, the 2018-2020 Odyssey, the 2019 Insight, and the Acura RDX from 2019 and 2020. According to the recall, the seat belts in the front seats would break open on impact increasing the risk of injury in a crash. On 21 December 2023, Honda announced
4620-475: The United States government over accusations that it had intentionally hid information about safety defects and had made deceptive statements to protect its brand image. Amid the unintended acceleration scandal, Katsuaki Watanabe stepped down as company president. He was replaced by Akio Toyoda , grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, on June 23, 2009. Akio had been with Toyota since 1984, working jobs in production, marketing and product development, and took
4725-459: The air-cooled N360, called the Honda Life , which was water-cooled. The Honda Life represented Honda's efforts in competing in the kei car segment, offering sedan, delivery van and small pick-up platforms on a shared chassis. The Life Step Van had a novel approach that, while not initially a commercial success, appeared to be an influence to vehicles with the front passengers sitting behind
4830-518: The air-cooled, four-cylinder, gasoline-powered Honda 1300 which was introduced in 1969. The Civic was a hatchback that gained wide popularity internationally, but it wasn't the first two-door hatchback built by Honda. That was the Honda N360 , a Kei car that was adapted for international sale as the N600. The Civic, which appeared in 1972 and replaced the N600 also had a smaller sibling that replaced
4935-447: The automotive industry into a serious shortage of funds, while many truck owners defaulted on their loans. Ultimately, the Bank of Japan , the central bank of the country, bailed out the company, with demands that the company institute reforms. As the 1950s began, Toyota emerged from its financial crisis a smaller company, closing factories and laying off workers. Meanwhile, the Korean War broke out, and being located so close to
5040-410: The battlefront, the U.S. Army placed an order for 1,000 trucks from Toyota. The order helped to rapidly improve the struggling company's business performance. In 1950, company executives, including Kiichiro's cousin Eiji Toyoda , took a trip to the United States where they trained at the Ford Motor Company and observed the operations of dozens of U.S. manufacturers. The knowledge they gained during
5145-405: The brand and vehicles in secret since August 1983, at a cost of over US$ 1 billion. The LS 400 flagship full-size sedan debuted in 1989 to strong sales, and was largely responsible for the successful launch of the Lexus marque. In the 1990s, Toyota began to branch out from producing mostly compact cars by adding many larger and more luxurious vehicles to its lineup, including a full-sized pickup,
5250-406: The company in 1959: "'Toy' sounds like a toy and toys break". The Crown was a flop in the U.S. market, with buyers finding it overpriced and underpowered (because it was designed for endurance on the bad roads of Japan, not high-speed performance on the good roads of America). In response, exports of the Crown to the United States were suspended in the early 1960s in favor of the Land Cruiser and
5355-441: The company proposing a joint-venture with the Ford Motor Company . Those talks broke down in July 1981. Eventually in 1984, the company struck a deal with General Motors (GM) to establish a joint-venture vehicle manufacturing plant called NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.) in Fremont, California . GM saw the joint venture as a way to get access to a quality small car and an opportunity to learn about The Toyota Way and
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#17327976212465460-417: The company ran a public competition to design a new logo. Of 27,000 entries, the winning entry was the three Japanese katakana letters for "Toyoda" in a circle. However, Rizaburo Toyoda , who had married into the family and was not born with that name, preferred "Toyota" ( トヨタ ) because it took eight brush strokes (a lucky number) to write in Japanese, was visually simpler (leaving off the diacritic at
5565-486: The company their father had founded. In 1992, Shoichiro Toyoda would shift to become chairman, allowing his brother Tatsuro to become president, a job he held until his retirement in 1995. Shoichiro would step down as chairman in 1999. Both would retain honorary advisory roles in the company. Hiroshi Okuda would lead the company as president from 1995 until 1999 when he became chairman and the President's office would be filled by Fujio Cho . In August 2000, exports began of
5670-404: The company to 33.4 percent, giving Toyota the ability to veto shareholder resolutions at the annual meeting. In 1998, Toyota increased its holding in the company to 51.2 percent, becoming the majority shareholder. On September 29, 1999, the company decided to list itself on the New York and London Stock Exchanges . The later half of the 1990s would also see the Toyoda brothers step back from
5775-477: The company's first truck, the G1 , was completed on August 25, 1935, and debuted on November 21 in Tokyo, becoming the company's first production model. Modeled on a period Ford truck, the G1 sold for ¥2,900, ¥200 cheaper than the Ford truck. A total of 379 G1 trucks were ultimately produced. In April 1936, Toyoda's first passenger car, the Model AA , was completed. The sales price was ¥3,350, ¥400 cheaper than Ford or GM cars. The company's plant at Kariya
5880-470: The company. Honda also aided the war effort by assisting other companies in automating the production of military aircraft propellers. The relationships Honda cultivated with personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company and the Imperial Japanese Navy would be instrumental in the postwar period. A US B-29 bomber attack destroyed Tōkai Seiki's Yamashita plant in 1944, and the Itawa plant collapsed on 13 January 1945 Mikawa earthquake . Soichiro Honda sold
5985-527: The crankshaft rpm and other info to compute the air quantity, and interprets the data using performance maps . Fuel is injected intermittently into the inlet ports. The PGM-FI also has a trailing throttle fuel cutoff and a self-diagnosis system. Honda Honda Motor Co., Ltd. ( Japanese : 本田技研工業株式会社 , Hepburn : Honda Giken Kōgyō Kabushiki gaisha , lit. ' Honda Institute of Technology and Industry Joint-Stock Company ' , IPA: [honda] ; / ˈ h ɒ n d ə / )
6090-463: The decline of the British motorcycle industry on the failure of British managers to invest enough in their businesses to profit from economies of scale and scope . The second explanation was offered in 1984 by Richard Pascale, who had interviewed the Honda executives responsible for the firm's entry into the U.S. market. As opposed to the tightly focused strategy of low cost and high scale that BCG accredited to Honda, Pascale found that their entry into
6195-508: The design and manufacturing of auto bodies, which were then mounted on truck frames made by Toyota. The project was a major test for Toyota, who would need to build bodies and develop a new chassis that would be comfortable, but still stand up to the muddy, slow, unpaved roads common in Japan at the time. The project had been championed for many years by founder Kiichiro Toyoda, who died suddenly on March 27, 1952. The first prototypes were completed in June 1953 and began extensive testing, before
6300-519: The desire to create a more environmentally friendly company image. The Honda Aircraft Company as established in 2006 as a wholly owned subsidiary to manufacture and sell the HondaJet family of aircraft. The first deliveries to customers began in December 2015. On 23 February 2015, Honda announced that CEO and President Takanobu Ito would step down and be replaced by Takahiro Hachigo in June of that year; additional retirements by senior managers and directors were expected. In October 2019, Honda
6405-439: The early 1980s with the ER engine equipped City Turbo . The system gained popularity in the late 1980s in their Accord and Prelude models with A20A, A20A3 & A20A4 engines ( Honda A engine ), and its motorcycles later on. In 1998, Honda built its third motorcycle with multi-point injection; the VFR800FI . The PGM-FI system relies on a piezoelectric sensor to measure intake manifold air pressure, then combines that data with
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#17327976212466510-410: The early 1980s. This desire to be the first to try new approaches is evident with the creation of the first Japanese luxury chain Acura , and was also evident with the all-aluminum, mid-engined sports car, the Honda NSX , which also introduced variable valve timing technology, which Honda calls VTEC . The Civic family is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America,
6615-601: The end of 2017. The decision was based on the unfavourable Australian dollar making exports not viable, the high cost of local manufacture, and the high amount of competition in a relatively small local market. The company planned to consolidate its corporate functions in Melbourne by the end of 2017, and retain its Altona plant for other functions. The workforce is expected to be reduced from 3,900 to 1,300. Both Ford Motor Company and General Motors ( Holden ) followed suit, ending Australian production in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The automaker narrowly topped global sales for
6720-434: The end), and with a voiceless consonant instead of a voiced one (voiced consonants are considered to have a "murky" or "muddy" sound compared to voiceless consonants, which are "clear"). Since toyoda literally means "fertile rice paddies", changing the name also prevented the company from being associated with old-fashioned farming. The newly formed word was trademarked and the company began trading on August 28, 1937, as
6825-445: The engine, a large cargo area with a flat roof and a liftgate installed in back, and utilizing a transversely installed engine with a front-wheel-drive powertrain. As Honda entered into automobile manufacturing in the late 1960s where Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan had been making cars since before WWII, Honda instilled a sense of doing things a little differently than its Japanese competitors. Its mainstay products like
6930-404: The engines ran out, Honda began building their own copy of the Tohatsu engine, and supplying these to customers to attach to their bicycles. This was the Honda A-Type, nicknamed the Bata Bata for the sound the engine made. In 1949, the Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated for ¥ 1,000,000, or about US$ 5,000 today; these funds were used to incorporate Honda Motor Co., Ltd. At about
7035-580: The establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet , which began production in 2012. Honda has two joint-ventures in China: Dongfeng Honda and GAC Honda . In 2013, Honda invested about 5.7% (US$ 6.8 billion) of its revenues into research and development. Also in 2013, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to be a net exporter from the United States, exporting 108,705 Honda and Acura models, while importing only 88,357. Throughout his life, Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda (1906–1991), had an interest in automobiles. He worked as
7140-403: The first Honda to go by the name Dream. In 1961, Honda achieved its first Grand Prix victories and World Championships in the 125 cc and 250 cc categories. Honda Motor Company grew in a short time to become the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964. The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, which went on sale in August 1963. Powered by
7245-401: The first-generation Odyssey and the CR-V , and a refocusing away from some of the numerous sedans and coupes that were popular with the company's engineers but not with the buying public. The most shocking change to Honda came when Kawamoto ended the company's successful participation in Formula One after the 1992 season, citing costs in light of the takeover threat from Mitsubishi as well as
7350-479: The founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda , Toyoda Automatic Loom Works established an Automobile Division on September 1, 1933, and formally declared its intention to begin manufacturing automobiles on January 29, 1934. A prototype Toyota Type A engine was completed on September 25, 1934, with the company's first prototype sedan, the A1 , completed the following May. As Kiichiro had limited experience with automobile production, he initially focused on truck production;
7455-400: The globe. These plants are located in China, the United States, Pakistan, Canada, England, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, México, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Taiwan, Perú and Argentina. As of July 2010, 89% of Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the United States were built in North American plants, up from 82.2% a year earlier. This shields profits from
7560-416: The industry and was the subject of many academic studies. In the 1960s, Toyota took advantage of the rapidly growing Japanese economy to sell cars to a growing middle-class, leading to the development of the Toyota Corolla , which became the world's all-time best-selling automobile . The booming economy also funded an international expansion that allowed Toyota to grow into one of the largest automakers in
7665-630: The loophole that allowed Toyota to pay lower taxes by building truck beds in America. Also in 1981, Eiji Toyoda stepped down as president and assumed the title of chairman. He was succeeded as president by Shoichiro Toyoda , the son of the company's founder. Within months, Shoichiro started to merge Toyota's sales and production organizations, and in 1982 the combined companies became the Toyota Motor Corporation. The two groups were described as "oil and water" and it took years of leadership from Shoichiro to successfully combine them into one organization. In Japan, Toyota offered mid-level luxury cars that were
7770-543: The models TRX 90X, TRX 250X, TRX 400x, TRX 450R and TRX 700. Power equipment production started in 1953 with H-type engine (prior to motorcycles). Honda power equipment reached record sales in 2007 with 6.4 million units sold annually. By 2010 ( Fiscal year ended 31 March) this figure had decreased to 4.7 million units. Cumulative production of power products has exceeded 85 million units annually (as of September 2008). In September 2023, Honda ceased sales of gasoline lawn mowers and some other power equipment in
7875-522: The onset of World War II , Toyota almost exclusively produced standard-sized trucks for the Japanese Army, which paid one-fifth of the price in advance and the remainder in cash upon delivery. Japan was heavily damaged in World War II and Toyota's plants, which were used for the war effort, were not spared. On August 14, 1945, one day before the surrender of Japan , Toyota's Koromo Plant
7980-628: The other in Blue Springs, Mississippi, USA. The company was number one in global automobile sales for the first quarter of 2008. Toyota was hit by the global financial crisis of 2008 as it was forced in December 2008 to forecast its first annual loss in 70 years. In January 2009, it announced the closure of all of its Japanese plants for 11 days to reduce output and stocks of unsold vehicles. In October 2009, Toyota announced that they were establishing an office in South Korea and launched
8085-1258: The pickup segment, the light-duty Ridgeline, won Truck of the Year from Motor Trend magazine in 2006. Also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won Car of the Year from the magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend honors. It is reported that Honda plans to increase hybrid sales in Japan to more than 20% of its total sales in the fiscal year 2011, from 14.8% in the previous year. Five of United States Environmental Protection Agency 's top ten most fuel-efficient cars from 1984 to 2010 come from Honda, more than any other automakers. The five models are: 2000–2006 Honda Insight (53 mpg ‑US or 4.4 L/100 km or 64 mpg ‑imp combined), 1986–1987 Honda Civic Coupe HF (46 mpg ‑US or 5.1 L/100 km or 55 mpg ‑imp combined), 1994–1995 Honda Civic hatchback VX (43 mpg ‑US or 5.5 L/100 km or 52 mpg ‑imp combined), 2006– Honda Civic Hybrid (42 mpg ‑US or 5.6 L/100 km or 50 mpg ‑imp combined), and 2010– Honda Insight (41 mpg ‑US or 5.7 L/100 km or 49 mpg ‑imp combined). The ACEEE has also rated
8190-405: The possible mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal . At least 37 were killed in crashes allegedly related to unintended acceleration, approximately 9 million cars and trucks were recalled, Toyota was sued for personal injuries and wrongful deaths, paid US$ 1 billion to settle a class action lawsuit to compensate owners for lost resale value, and paid a US$ 1.2 billion criminal penalty to
8295-538: The relatively long distances of the US highways. When the team found that the scooters they were using to get themselves around their U.S. base of San Francisco attracted positive interest from consumers they fell back on selling the Super Cub instead. The most recent school of thought on Honda's strategy was put forward by Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad in 1989. Creating the concept of core competencies with Honda as an example, they argued that Honda's success
8400-417: The release of the first EVs scheduled for 2026 in the US under the "Afeela" brand. On 2 February 2023, Honda announced a deal with American car company General Motors to produce cars using a new hydrogen fuel system. The aim is to ramp up the hydrogen powered cells in their Electric vehicles as well as trucks, construction machinery, and power stations. On 15 March 2023, Honda recalled 500,000 vehicles in
8505-494: The salvageable remains of the company to Toyota after the war for ¥450,000 and used the proceeds to found the Honda Technical Research Institute in October 1946. With a staff of 12 men working in a 16 m (170 sq ft) shack, they built and sold improvised motorized bicycles , using a supply of 500 two-stroke 50 cc Tohatsu war surplus radio generator engines . When
8610-402: The same time Honda hired engineer Kihachiro Kawashima, and Takeo Fujisawa who provided indispensable business and marketing expertise to complement Soichiro Honda's technical bent. The close partnership between Soichiro Honda and Fujisawa lasted until they stepped down together in October 1973. The first complete motorcycle with both the frame and engine made by Honda was the 1949 D-Type ,
8715-537: The same time, sports cars like the Supra , Celica , MR2 , Corolla Levin , Sprinter Trueno , and even the subcompact Starlet GT reflected a time of prosperity. December 1997 saw the introduction of the first-generation Toyota Prius , the first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. The vehicle would be produced exclusively for the Japanese market for the first two years. With a major presence in Europe, due to
8820-606: The second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. In 2015, Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world. Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura , on 27 March 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft , power generators, and other products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also ventured into aerospace with
8925-585: The slight opening of the Japanese auto market to foreign companies. In an effort to strengthen Japan's auto industry ahead of the market opening, Toyota purchased stakes in other Japanese automakers. That included a stake in Hino Motors , a manufacturer of large commercial trucks, buses and diesel engines, along with a 16.8 percent stake in Daihatsu , a manufacturer of kei cars , the smallest highway-legal passenger vehicles sold in Japan. That began what became
9030-409: The slogan " You meet the nicest people on a Honda ." In contrast to the prevailing negative stereotypes of motorcyclists in America as tough, antisocial rebels, this campaign suggested that Honda motorcycles were made for the everyman. The campaign was hugely successful; the ads ran for three years, and by the end of 1963 alone, Honda had sold 90,000 motorcycles. Taking Honda's story as an archetype of
9135-469: The smaller manufacturer entering a new market already occupied by highly dominant competitors, the story of their market entry, and their subsequent huge success in the U.S. and around the world has been the subject of some academic controversy. Competing explanations have been advanced to explain Honda's strategy and the reasons for their success. The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975,
9240-553: The success of Toyota Team Europe in motorsport, the corporation decided to set up Toyota Motor Europe Marketing and Engineering, TMME , to help market vehicles in the continent. Two years later, Toyota set up a base in the United Kingdom, TMUK , as the company's cars had become very popular among British drivers. Bases in Indiana , Virginia , and Tianjin were also set up. Toyota also increased its ownership of Daihatsu during this period. In 1995, Toyota increased its shareholding in
9345-464: The successful establishment of Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc. in Marysville, Ohio . Irimajiri and Kawamoto shared a friendly rivalry within Honda; owing to health issues, Irimajiri would resign in 1992. Following the death of Soichiro Honda and the departure of Irimajiri, Honda found itself quickly being outpaced in product development by other Japanese automakers and was caught off-guard by
9450-466: The trip, along with what the company learned making looms, gave rise to The Toyota Way (a management philosophy) and the Toyota Production System (a lean manufacturing practice) that transformed the company into a leader in the manufacturing industry. Toyota started developing its first full-fledged passenger car, the Toyopet Crown , in 1952. Prior to the Crown, Toyota had been outsourcing
9555-537: The truck and sport utility vehicle boom of the 1990s, all which took a toll on the profitability of the company. Japanese media reported in 1992 and 1993 that Honda was at serious risk of an unwanted and hostile takeover by Mitsubishi Motors , which at the time was a larger automaker by volume and was flush with profits from its successful Pajero and Diamante models. Kawamoto acted quickly to change Honda's corporate culture, rushing through market-driven product development that resulted in recreational vehicles such as
9660-484: The world's first carmaker to sell a vehicle with level 3 self-driving technology. In March 2022, Honda announced it would develop and build electric vehicles in a joint venture with electronics giant Sony . The latter is set to provide its imaging, sensing, network and other technologies while Honda would be responsible for the car manufacturing processes. The Sony Honda Mobility company was officially announced on 13 October 2022 with pre-orders said to open in 2025 and
9765-416: The world, the largest company in Japan and the ninth-largest company in the world by revenue , as of December 2020 . Toyota was the world's first automobile manufacturer to produce more than 10 million vehicles per year, a record set in 2012, when it also reported the production of its 200 millionth vehicle. By September 2023, total production reached 300 million vehicles. Toyota was praised for being
9870-507: The world. In 1986, Honda introduced the successful Acura brand to the American market in an attempt to gain ground in the luxury vehicle market. The year 1991 saw the introduction of the Honda NSX supercar, the first all-aluminum monocoque vehicle that incorporated a mid-engine V6 with variable-valve timing . In 1990, CEO Tadashi Kume was succeeded by Nobuhiko Kawamoto . Kawamoto was selected over Shoichiro Irimajiri , who oversaw
9975-663: The year 2005. Also in 2005, Fujio Cho would shift to become chairman of Toyota and would be replaced as president by Katsuaki Watanabe . In 2007, Toyota released an update of its full-sized truck, the Tundra, produced in two American factories, one in Texas and one in Indiana. Motor Trend named the 2007 Toyota Camry "Car of the Year" for 2007. It also began the construction of two new factories, one in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, and
10080-416: The years after, consumers started demanding high-quality and fuel-efficient small cars. Domestic automakers, in the midst of their malaise era , struggled to build these cars profitably, but foreign automakers like Toyota were well positioned. This, along with growing anti-Japanese sentiment , prompted the U.S. Congress to consider import restrictions to protect the domestic auto industry. The 1960s also saw
10185-593: The yen's advance to a 15-year high against the dollar. American Honda Motor Company is based in Torrance, California . Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) is Honda's motorsport division. Honda Canada Inc. is headquartered in Markham, Ontario , it was originally planned to be located in Richmond Hill, Ontario , but delays led them to look elsewhere. Their manufacturing division, Honda of Canada Manufacturing ,
10290-522: Was able to mass-produce piston rings acceptable to Toyota, using an automated process that could employ even unskilled wartime laborers. Tōkai Seiki was placed under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (called the Ministry of Munitions after 1943) at the start of World War II, and Soichiro Honda was demoted from president to senior managing director after Toyota took a 40% stake in
10395-458: Was bombed by the Allied forces . After the surrender, the U.S.-led occupying forces banned passenger car production in Japan. However, automakers like Toyota were allowed to begin building trucks for civilian use, in an effort to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. The U.S. military also contracted with Toyota to repair its vehicles. By 1947, there was an emerging global Cold War between
10500-463: Was completed in May. In July, the company filled its first export order, with four G1 trucks exported to northeastern China. On September 19, 1936, the Japanese imperial government officially designated Toyota Automatic Loom Works as an automotive manufacturer. Vehicles were originally sold under the name "Toyoda" (トヨダ), from the family name of the company's founder, Kiichirō Toyoda . In September 1936,
10605-523: Was due to its focus on leadership in the technology of internal combustion engines. For example, the high power-to-weight ratio engines Honda produced for its racing bikes provided technology and expertise which was transferable into mopeds. Honda's entry into the U.S. motorcycle market during the 1960s is used as a case study for teaching introductory strategy at business schools worldwide. Honda builds utility ATVs under models Recon, Rubicon, Rancher, Foreman and Rincon. Honda also builds sports ATVs under
10710-537: Was redesigned specifically for the American market with a more powerful engine. The Corona helped increase U.S. sales of Toyota vehicles to more than 20,000 units in 1966 (a threefold increase) and helped the company become the third-best-selling import brand in the United States by 1967. Toyota's first manufacturing investment in the United States came in 1972 when the company struck a deal with Atlas Fabricators, to produce truck beds in Long Beach, in an effort to avoid
10815-490: Was reported to be in talks with Hitachi to merge the two companies' car parts businesses, creating a components supplier with almost $ 17 billion in annual sales. In January 2020, Honda announced that it would be withdrawing employees working in the city of Wuhan , Hubei , China due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On 23 March 2020 due to the global spread of the virus, Honda became the first major automaker with operations in
10920-452: Was still higher than its three domestic competitors. In 2017, India became the largest motorcycle market for Honda. In India, Honda is leading in the scooters segment, with 59% market share. During the 1960s when it was a small manufacturer, Honda broke out of the Japanese motorcycle market and began exporting to the United States. Working with the advertising agency Grey Advertising , Honda created an innovative marketing campaign, using
11025-654: Was valued at US$ 50.4 billion in October 2018. Honda's automotive manufacturing ambitions can be traced back to 1963, with the Honda T360 , a Kei truck built for the Japanese market. This was followed by the two-door roadster , the Honda S500 also introduced in 1963. In 1965, Honda built a two-door commercial delivery van, named the Honda L700 . Honda's first four-door sedan was not the Honda Accord , but
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