[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/toyota-former-president-eiji-toyoda-dies-at-100\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/toyota-former-president-eiji-toyoda-dies-at-100\/","headline":"Toyota former president, Eiji Toyoda, dies at 100","name":"Toyota former president, Eiji Toyoda, dies at 100","description":"Sadly we live in an age where many great men and women of the twentieth century are becoming just memories with fine legacies left behind, and yesterday I learned of another great man of the motor industry departing the world. Eiji Toyoda was president of Toyota from 1967 until 1982, after which he became chairman until 1994. Toyoda was intrinsic in ambitiously pushing the company forward in an expansion that would ultimately culminate in seeing Toyota become one of the […]","datePublished":"2013-09-18","dateModified":"2013-09-18","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/#Person","name":"Isabelle Lawrence","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/","identifier":30,"description":"Max Wheeler is a leading motoring journalist and classic car specialist at Smart Motoring, renowned for his sharp insight and infectious passion for all things automotive. With years of experience covering motoring news, supercars, and the enduring legacy of classic cars, Max brings stories to life with style and authority. Whether it\u2019s the roar of a Lamborghini, the elegance of an Aston Martin DB5, or the cultural impact of vintage motoring icons, he delivers expert commentary that inspires enthusiasts and collectors alike. Dedicated to celebrating the heritage and future of driving, Max Wheeler is your trusted voice for classic car news and beyond.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Smart Motoring","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/eiji-toyoda.jpg","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/eiji-toyoda.jpg","height":300,"width":300},"url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/toyota-former-president-eiji-toyoda-dies-at-100\/","about":["LATEST CAR NEWS"],"wordCount":495,"keywords":["corolla","Eiji Toyoda","ford","kaizen","toyota","toyota crown"],"articleBody":"Sadly we live in an age where many great men and women of the twentieth century are becoming just memories with fine legacies left behind, and yesterday I learned of another great man of the motor industry departing the world.Eiji Toyoda was president of Toyota from 1967 until 1982, after which he became chairman until 1994. Toyoda was intrinsic in ambitiously pushing the company forward in an expansion that would ultimately culminate in seeing Toyota become one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world.Toyoda, who had just celebrated his 100th birthday on 12th September this year, studied mechanical engineering in Tokyo during the early thirties before moving into the car industry. The seeds of his ambitions for Toyota may well have been planted during his visit to the USA to look at the Ford plant in Michigan in the 1950s. While impressed by the size of the plant, he was less impressed by what he thought of as the inefficiencies of the plant’s manufacturing process.Toyoda had a dilemma though, while he saw the Michigan plant on one level as inefficient, it was steadily producing 8,000 vehicles each day in comparison with Toyota\u2019s total of 2,500 vehicles in its 13-year history.Toyoda put into action a series of innovative ideas to bring Toyota up to a similar level of output as the Ford factory. The simple sounding idea of labelling product parts in the factories to reduce confusion and the adoption of the very Japanese \u2018kaizen\u2019 (\u2018good change\u2019) way of making constant small improvements to the production process from start to finish came to be known as the \u2018Toyota Way\u2019.\u00a0It\u2019s a process much adopted since, and on paper tends to baulk at the rather British idea of \u2018if it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u2019.Eiji Toyoda had plans to get Toyota established in the lucrative American market, it\u2019s very likely he first realised how important this would be to the company\u2019s success and ambition following his visit to the Ford Michigan factory – the size of the plant and its output had certainly left an impression.After a failed attempt with the Toyota Crown, which was generally considered to be somewhat underpowered for the gas-guzzling American market, the company finally managed to make their mark with the Toyota Corolla in the late sixties. In fact the Corolla had become the best selling car in the world by 1974 and in July this year Corolla reached the impressive landmark of a worldwide sales figure of 40 million.It could be said that Toyoda left his final mark on Toyota with the wise plan to move the company into the luxury car market, culminating in the hugely popular Lexus sub-brand, now Japan\u2019s biggest luxury automobile maker.From humble loom maker, to one of Japan\u2019s most respected and known businessmen, Toyoda leaves behind three sons who have all followed their father\u2019s footsteps into the motor industry.Images – hemmings.com, i.ndtvimg.com"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Latest News","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Toyota former president, Eiji Toyoda, dies at 100","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/latest-news\/toyota-former-president-eiji-toyoda-dies-at-100\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]