Toyota 2014 Annual Report Download - page 10

Toyota in 10 Years and 100 Years
With the goal of making ever-better cars, the Toyota Global Vision is an articulation of the kind of company we want to be. It is based on shared values and a spirit of monozukuri (conscientious manufactur-
ing) passed down since our foundation and embodied in the core values of Sakichi Toyoda, the Guiding Principles at Toyota, and the Toyota Way. We use the image of a tree to illustrate our vision: the roots
are our shared values; the ongoing upward growth of its branches represents our efforts to expand business; the fruit represents making ever-better cars and enriching lives and local communities; and the
trunk is our stable base of business. As the trunk of the tree grows bigger and stronger, it is able to support more branches—the creation of ever-better cars. This is the trajectory that puts Toyota on the
path toward sustainable growth.
Of all the components of our vision, building ever-better cars takes priority. We want to deliver products and services that surprise and excite our customers. We want to be a company that puts smiles on
faces—and keeps them there.
On September 1, 1923, Japan’s rail system was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake. Automobiles
played a key role in helping save lives and facilitating reconstruction in the aftermath. For many people, this
event demonstrated not only the practical public role that automobiles could play but the convenience such
vehicles, previously regarded only as luxury items, could offer. The surge in demand for automobiles follow-
ing the earthquake was met by U.S. automakers, whose mass production structure gave them an advan-
tage in both supply capability and cost. Efforts were made to produce vehicles in Japan from around 1910
onwards. However, as Japanese industry at the time was for the most part technologically underdeveloped,
business conditions were not conducive to the establishment of a full-blown automotive industry, and
ventures to produce vehicles domestically were unable to compete with the U.S. automakers that set up
automobile assembly plants in Japan immediately after the earthquake. However, 10 years later, on
September 1, 1933, Kiichiro Toyoda established the Automotive Production Division (which would later
become the Automotive Department) within Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd., and began preparing to
build prototypes. While declaring lofty goals, Toyoda, like his father Sakichi, took a hands-on approach to
learning and was often heard saying, “an engineer who does not have to wash his hands at least three
times a day is not doing a good job.”
Toyota is a company born from the passions of its founders, who wanted nothing less than to establish a globally competitive automobile industry in Japan.
The Japanese Auto Industry in
the Early Twentieth Century
Toyota’s
DNA
ANNUAL REPORT 2014
President’s MessagePresident’s Message
Overview of
Four Business Units
Overview of
Four Business Units
Special FeatureSpecial Feature
Review of OperationsReview of Operations
Consolidated Performance
Highlights
Consolidated Performance
Highlights
Management and
Corporate Information
Management and
Corporate Information
Investor InformationInvestor Information
Financial SectionFinancial Section
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Toyota in 10 Years and 100 Years [1 of 6] Our DNA is Creating Ever-Better Cars What Sets Toyota Apart Enriching Lives and Building Tomorrow’s Toyota through Innovation New Values for the Next Hundred Years Message from the Executive Vice President Responsible for Accounting
A1 prototype passenger car