Chances are that if you are looking for a new car at your Toyota dealer, you already know about the brand. Toyota is well known for their solid engineering, smooth rides, and great looks. That’s only part of the picture, however. Have you ever wondered about the history of Toyota as a company? Well, read on. Your St Louis Toyota dealer has some interesting facts to share with you about how the brand was born.

The Toyota Motor Corporation was founded in 1937 when Kichiro Toyoda split off from his father’s company, Toyota Industries, in order to exclusively create automobiles. The spelling of Toyoda with the letter “d” is not a typo. As his father’s company grew, the company name was changed because the new pronunciation was easier to write in Japanese. In time, the world began to know the company by the name your Toyota dealer proudly displays on their business.

In the mid 1970s, the US began to experience a gas crunch. Consumers became more and more interested in the smaller, more gas efficient cars that the Toyota Motor Company was producing. Because of this, Toyota vehicles began to gain hold in America, and the Toyota Motor Company is now the world’s largest automaker. Over time, the smaller vehicle line grew to include the trucks, SUVs, vans, and luxury sedans you expect to see at your Toyota dealer today.

While the company is headquartered in Japan, many of the cars you see at your Toyota dealer were in fact produced in America with American labor. With factories all over the south, Toyota contributes to the economy by providing large numbers of jobs and great opportunities to its employees. There are currently five American factories and there are plans for more in the future.