Activities by Region

Latin America

Latin America has one of the oldest records in Toyota's history of expansion into overseas markets, second only to Southeast Asia.

Starting with its entry in Brazil in 1958, its first full-scale launch of overseas production operations after World War II, Toyota has actively pursued localized production in Peru, Venezuela, and other countries in this region as a response to these countries' domestication policies.

Localized production and sales in Latin America gained traction in the latter half of the 1990s amidst economic crisis. In 2000, Toyota launched businesses with a view to increasing its presence across the region. In 2005, Toyota began production of Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle (IMV) models in Argentina, which has become a global production center that ranks alongside Thailand, Indonesia, and South Africa where Toyota is also now promoting exports to other countries.

*
Innovative International Multi-purpose Vehicle

Puerto Rico

Year
Month
Events
1956
November
Exports to Puerto Rico commenced with six Land Cruisers
1965
January
Distribution agreement signed with Gomez Hermanos
1968
December
Corolla introduced
1977
December
Toyota achieves No. 1 market share
1979
September
Front-wheel-drive compact car, Tercel introduced
1981
April
Toyota places self-imposed limit on passenger car exports (70,000 units a year; ended in March 1985)
1985
August
Tercel hatchback introduced
1987
February
Tercel two-door coupe introduced
1991
 
Lexus sales commenced in Puerto Rico
1994
June
Toyota de Puerto Rico, Corp. (TdPR; wholly owned subsidiary of TMC) established
1999
July
TdPR acquires TMS
2004
 
Scion sales commenced in Puerto Rico
2005
December
Share of Puerto Rican market tops 30% for the first time

Peru

Year
Month
Events
1957
April
Exports to Peru commenced with six Land Cruisers
1963
July
Lima Representative Office opened (closed in June 1977)
1966
August
Equity stake acquired in Toyota del Peru (TDP; 50%)
1967
April
TDP assembly plant commences operations, begins Corona and Stout assembly
1970
June
Toyota participates in international bid for assembly plant (five companies including TDP win bid in 1971)
1979
November
CBU import ban lifted (reinstituted in December 1984)
1983
December
Toyota achieves No. 1 market share
1985
December
Hilux assembly commenced
1989
 
Toyota captures 45% share of CKD market
1990
February
Cumulative production tops 80,000 units
October
Cumulative sales tops 100,000 units
1991
April
Corona production terminated due to decreased CKD competitiveness
June
Hilux production terminated; plant operations suspended
1993
 
Customer Information Center opened
1994
June
Line-off ceremony for CKD Stout held
1997
 
30th anniversary celebration held
1998
February
Used car modification business launched at TACNA
March
TDP plant closed completely
 
Business focus shifted to CBU imports and sales
1999
 
TDP plant sold to Japanese chemical manufacturer
 
Equity stake increased (USD 8 million)
2000
 
TACNA's modification plant closed
2007
 
40th anniversary celebration held
2011
 
Toyota achieves 20 consecutive years of holding the largest share of the market

Venezuela

Year
Month
Events
1956
February
Exports to Venezuela commenced with two Land Cruisers
1962
August
CKD export contract signed with Tocars
1963
January
ES begins Land Cruiser assembly
1971
September
Assembly moved from ES to INDEMACA (terminated in August 1983)
1981
November
Tocars assembly plant commences operations (spun off as Serenca in February 1982)
1982
September
Caracas Representative Office opened
1987
 
CKD production of Corolla vehicles commenced
1989
November
Toyota acquires equity stake in Tocars
1992
September
Tocars changes name to Toyota de Venezuela Compania Anonima (TDV)
1994
 
Corolla exported to ANCOM states (e.g., Colombia, Ecuador)
1996
 
CKD assembly of Dyna vehicles commenced
1999
 
Yaris and 4Runner introduced from Japan
2000
 
Land Cruiser Prado introduced from Colombia
2001
November
First Terios rolls off the line at Cumana plant's 20th anniversary celebration
2005
July
New Hilux assembly commenced as part of Toyota's IMV project
2006
 
Corolla imported from Brazil as Cumana plant shows insufficient production capacity

Brazil

Year
Month
Events
1952
February
Exports to Brazil commenced with 100 FX trucks
1955
November
Sao Paulo Representative Office opened (closed in September 1956)
1958
January
Toyota do Brasil Ltda. (TDB) established
1959
May
Land Cruiser assembly commenced
1962
April
Assembly of Land Cruisers (local name: Bandeirante) with Mercedes-Benz engines commenced
November
TDB begins operations at its assembly plant
1988
 
Annual sales in Brazil top 5,000 units
1992
October
CBU import of Hilux, Corolla, Hilux SW4, and Camry vehicles commenced
1996
January
Export of Hilux parts to TMS commenced
 
'Corolla Project' commenced
 
First General Assembly of Brazilian Suppliers held
1997
 
Import of Argentinian-made Hilux commenced
1998
August
First Brazilian-made Corolla rolls off the production line; opening ceremony held at a Indaiatuba plant
1999
November
Cumulative production of Bandeirante tops 100,000 units
 
Bandeirante Sport added to lineup
2001
November
Bandeirante production terminated
2003
January
Toyota Mercosul established linked with TASA
August
Corolla exports to Latin America commenced
2008
 
Brazilian-made Corolla (third generation) launched

Argentina

Year
Month
Events
1979
April
Celica introduced in Argentina (market grows to second largest after Puerto Rico in 1980)
1994
April
Toyota Argentina S.A. (TASA) established立
1995
December
CBU imports commenced
1997
March
Plant operations, Hilux production commenced
April
Export of Hilux to Brazil commenced
1998
 
New Corolla launched
2001
 
Hilux export destinations added (e.g., Chile, Peru)
2003
January
Toyota Mercosul established linked with TDB
October
Export of Hilux to Mexico commenced
2005
January
IMV project launched
2011
November
Annual production capacity increased 70,000 units to 90,000 units at Zarate Plant

Mexico

Year
Month
Events
1959
July
Exports to Mexico commenced with one Crown and one Land Cruiser
1960
August
CKD export contract signed with Planta Reo de Mexico (terminated in September 1964)
December
Assembly of large trucks and Land Cruisers commenced
1962
July
Mexico Representative Office opened (closed in April 1966)
1964
 
Toyota withdraws from the Mexican market
2001
May
Mexican distributor, TMEX, established on May 1
2002
April
Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California, S. de R.L. de C.V.(TMMBC) established
April
TMEX establishes sales and financial services company, TSM, develops sales infrastructure, and begins Camry and Corolla sales
2003
 
Import and sales of Argentinian-made Hilux commenced
2004
December
TMMBC begins Tacoma production
2006
 
Argentinean-made new Hilux (IMV) imported and sold
2007
November
TMMBC production capacity increased from 30,000 to 50,000 units a year
2008
 
Annual sales of 63,306 units (second highest in history), market share of 6.8% achieved
2009
 
TMEX, TMS, and TMC implement Survival Plan (e.g., production limits on CBU vehicles, adoption of North American production models as core models, delayed introduction of Lexus models)
2010
July
Toyota announces launch of Prius as Mexico's first hybrid model
2011
November
TMEX achieves cumulative sales of 400,000 units

Other Countries

Year
Month
Events
1950
June
Exports to Costa Rica commenced with three SB trucks
1953
July
Distribution agreement signed with Didea in El Salvador
1956
August
Toyota exhibits large trucks and Land Cruiser at Uruguay Farm Equipment Expo
October
Bogota Representative Office opened in Colombia (closed in March 1963)
1958
December
Toyota exhibits Crown on Latin American Trade Exhibition Ship
1963
September
Domingo Basso of Uruguay begins Toyota 700 and Stout assembly (assembly ended in December 1972)
1965
September
Ecasa of Costa Rica begins CKD assembly of Corona and Land Cruiser vehicles
1969
January
Curacao Representative Office opened (closed in September 1973)
1971
April
Amar Auto Supplies Ltd. of Trinidad and Tobago begins Mark II assembly
November
First Latin America Strategy Conference held in Puerto Rico
1973
April
Equity stake (20%) acquired in Ecasa of Costa Rica
May
Order for 1,873 Corolla, Land Cruiser, and other vehicles received from the Cuban government
1976
January
CBU import ban lifted in Chile (lifted in Argentina, Colombia, and Bolivia in 1979, and Uruguay in 1980)
1979
July
Ecasa of Costa Rica begins Starlet assembly (assembly ended in October 1982)
1981
October
Order for 1,700 Corona, Corolla, Starlet, and other vehicles received from the Jamaican government
1982
July
Santiago Representative Office opened
1983
July
First Product Deployment Meeting held in Panama
1985
January
Ambrois of Uruguay begins Hilux assembly (assembly ended in March 1987)
October
Ayax of Uruguay begins Corolla assembly
1986
June
Latin America Marketing Conference held in Miami
October
Maresa of Ecuador begins Stout assembly
1987
April
Pan-Caribbean Marketing Conference held in Tokyo
1997
 
Operations for Toyota motor sales in the Caribbean region moved to Toyota Tsusho Corporation
2008
April
Lexus vehicles launched in Chili

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