Japan

Export Volume

Toyota vehicles were exported on a small scale until the mid-1950s, with trucks comprising the majority of vehicles exported. By the 1960s, however, exports of passenger cars had grown rapidly, boosted by a burgeoning popularity among overseas customers for redesigned Corona, Corolla, and other models.

While exports were temporarily set back by the oil crises and other events of the 1970s, they steadily expanded until the early 1980s on growing demand for automobiles in overseas markets.

Influenced in the 1980s by heightened friction in U.S.-Japan trade relations and sudden depreciation of the dollar against the yen as a result of the Plaza Accord, Toyota gradually started to move production overseas. Consequently, after reaching their peak at 1.98 million units in 1985, exports entered a period of continuous decline, falling to nearly 1.20 million units by 1995.

During the second half of the 1990s and thereafter, exports rose steadily again, this time backed by robust global economic growth. Exported vehicles reached their record high in 2007 at over 2.66 million units, but declined to 1.57 million units by 2010 as a result of the 2008-2009 global recession.

Number of Exported Vehicles

1936-1965

Unit=one vehicle or percentage

Year
Passenger cars
Trucks & buses
Total
Export ratio
Percentage of passenger cars
1936
-
4
4
0.4
-
1937
-
883
883
22.0
-
1938
-
278
278
6.0
-
1939
-
809
809
6.8
-
1940
-
1,643
1,643
11.1
-
1941
-
938
938
6.4
-
1942
-
545
545
3.3
-
1943
-
741
741
7.5
-
1944
-
123
123
1.0
-
1945
-
-
-
-
-
1946
-
-
-
-
-
1947
1
1
2
0.1
50.0
1948
1
3
4
0.1
25.0
1949
7
183
190
1.8
3.7
1950
3
489
492
4.2
0.6
1951
-
213
213
1.5
-
1952
-
307
307
2.2
-
1953
-
279
279
1.7
-
1954
1
362
363
1.6
0.3
1955
1
280
281
1.2
0.4
1956
18
851
869
1.9
2.1
1957
301
3,816
4,117
5.2
7.3
1958
1,126
4,397
5,523
7.0
20.4
1959
1,638
4,496
6,134
6.1
26.7
1960
1,810
4,587
6,397
4.1
28.3
1961
3,932
7,743
11,675
5.5
33.7
1962
2,505
8,702
11,207
4.9
22.4
1963
9,318
15,061
24,379
7.7
38.2
1964
17,702
25,083
42,785
10.0
41.4
1965
33,297
30,177
63,474
13.3
52.5
Note 1:
Excludes military demand.
Note 2:
Export ratio is units exported as a percentage of units produced.

1966-2011

Unit=one vehicle or percentage

Year
Passenger cars
Trucks & buses
Total
Export ratio
Percentage of passenger cars
1966
70,545
34,600
105,145
17.9
67.1
1967
111,461
46,421
157,882
19.0
70.6
1968
203,169
75,918
279,087
25.4
72.8
1969
287,369
107,733
395,102
26.9
72.7
1970
346,462
135,430
481,892
29.9
71.9
1971
604,923
181,364
786,287
40.2
76.9
1972
555,430
169,122
724,552
34.7
76.7
1973
525,056
195,584
720,640
31.2
72.9
1974
605,433
250,832
856,265
40.5
70.7
1975
612,744
255,608
868,352
37.2
70.6
1976
835,619
341,695
1,177,314
47.3
71.0
1977
968,270
444,965
1,413,235
51.9
68.5
1978
900,366
481,808
1,382,174
47.2
65.1
1979
905,392
478,256
1,383,648
46.2
65.4
63,880
14,630
78,510
1980
1,149,420
636,025
1,785,445
54.2
64.4
67,800
20,110
87,910
1981
1,063,385
653,101
1,716,486
53.3
62.0
83,940
21,920
105,860
1982
1,062,841
602,952
1,665,793
53.0
63.8
93,260
37,100
130,360
1983
1,069,053
595,308
1,664,361
50.9
64.2
99,180
39,480
138,660
1984
1,100,353
700,570
1,800,923
52.5
61.1
112,997
39,270
152,267
1985
1,198,982
780,973
1,979,955
54.0
60.6
166,200
35,820
202,020
1986
1,210,200
665,563
1,875,763
51.2
64.5
306,280
36,960
343,240
1987
1,192,146
578,791
1,770,937
48.7
67.3
273,070
55,160
328,230
1988
1,231,906
583,815
1,815,721
45.8
67.8
262,150
56,730
318,880
1989
1,139,680
529,450
1,669,130
42.0
68.3
525,648
115,104
640,752
1990
1,215,519
461,608
1,677,127
39.8
72.5
633,026
165,113
798,139
1991
1,223,917
479,672
1,703,589
41.7
71.8
611,779
170,200
781,979
1992
1,269,152
429,084
1,698,236
43.2
74.7
621,313
233,207
854,520
1993
1,132,739
406,266
1,539,005
43.2
73.6
718,345
260,658
979,003
1994
1,036,558
467,914
1,504,472
42.9
68.9
882,547
311,069
1,193,616
1995
879,658
322,762
1,202,420
37.9
73.2
991,239
392,931
1,384,170
1996
968,578
308,084
1,276,662
37.4
75.9
1,056,872
366,541
1,423,413
1997
1,160,213
334,095
1,494,308
42.7
77.6
1,195,475
271,188
1,466,663
1998
1,173,936
288,840
1,462,776
46.2
80.3
1,283,227
239,369
1,522,596
1999
1,311,503
236,538
1,548,041
49.6
84.7
1,343,423
330,871
1,674,294
2000
1,446,778
259,430
1,706,208
49.8
84.8
1,458,890
373,318
1,832,208
2001
1,416,469
249,250
1,665,719
49.7
85.0
1,485,856
372,190
1,858,046
2002
1,534,850
281,931
1,816,781
52.1
84.5
1,843,501
415,493
2,258,994
2003
1,562,456
273,540
1,835,996
52.2
85.1
2,287,132
433,077
2,720,209
2004
1,656,178
295,563
1,951,741
53.0
84.9
2,638,159
495,449
3,133,608
2005
1,792,116
251,129
2,043,245
53.9
87.7
2,782,512
766,220
3,548,732
2006
2,334,746
194,544
2,529,290
60.3
92.3
2,973,409
868,413
3,841,822
2007
2,452,752
213,712
2,666,464
63.1
92.0
3,175,709
1,024,814
4,200,523
2008
2,347,960
238,378
2,586,338
64.5
90.8
3,122,440
863,715
3,986,155
2009
1,303,365
141,393
1,444,758
51.7
90.2
2,776,454
663,967
3,440,421
2010
1,572,538
172,500
1,745,038
53.2
90.1
3,219,248
891,542
4,110,790
2011
1,395,124
173,817
1,568,941
56.8
88.9
3,208,756
822,049
4,030,805

Source:

1. APPENDICES, TOYOTA A HISTORY OF THE FIRST 50 YEARS (for the data before 1966)
2. Publications from the Automotive Industrial Association and the Japan Small Vehicle Manufactures Association (for the data in 1966)
3. Publications from the Japan Automotive Manufactures Association (for the data after 1966)

Note1 :
Export ratio is units exported as a percentage of units produced.
Note2 :
Units include both Toyota and Lexus sales
Note3 :
The bottom figure in years after 1978 is the number of knockdown kits exported separately from CBU vehicles (KD kits are less than 60% the price of assembled vehicles and are handled as components).

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