When the World War II started, Toyota was forced by the Japanese executive to build army autos. In fact, Toyota begun to begin a large automotive maker after the war, a time when the Japanese economy was staring to develop and there was an increasing need to cheap means of transportation. Many models were copies of American vehicles (in fact, the first Land Cruiser was a copy after the American military Jeep).
It is in 1958 that Toyota sold its first models In America. The first models imported were the Toyopet and the Land Cruiser. Shortly after that, seeing that neither models have sufficient sales, Toyota designed the 1st models particularly for the Yank market : the Avalon and the Camry.
By the early 1960s, Toyota has opened its first research and development facilities in the US, focusing more on international sales. In 1967, Toyota launched another all-American model, its Crown sedan and the Crown truck. To enter the Yankee muscle automobile market, till then controlled by domestic players,
Toyota made a decision to import the 2010GT sport model. Whilst not extremely fast, it proved superior to many local models as it was better built and had a better handling. Seeing the 1980s America was looking for more sumptuous models, Toyota has launched its luxury brand Lexus in the States. When making the 1st Lexus, the LS400, Toyota has done everything they could to supply a better vehicle than Mercedes and BMW.
Toyota refined all its Yank models and its Lexus brand introduced newer, technology richer autos and by the mid 1990s Toyota was seen as a pacesetter in details of trustworthiness and build quality.
Today's Toyota is fighting to keep its first position as the car manufacturer with the largest sales and units produced. In America Toyota has double the sales of Honda with both its Toyota and Lexus brands. Its headquarters are situated in New York and Toyota has five assembly plants throughout the United States in Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and West Virginia.
Toyota is currently developing the US models locally, in America, as they have seen that models made especially for the Japanese or the European markets do not reach the same sales numbers as the models made accordingly to the needs of the American market. In Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and West Virginia.
