Overseas

Overseas Services

The first after-sales services provided by Toyota outside Japan took place at service station in Southeast Asia in the 1940s. Until the mid-1960s, in the years leading up to Toyota's global emergence, service activities largely consisted of technical service training. Subsequently, as global markets expanded and vehicle sales surged, high-tech state-of-the-art products and technologies, and overseas production grew, Toyota focused on making continual improvements to its servicing systems in order to put local customers first and provide the best customer service in each city and town.

Year
Month
Events
1944
 
Affiliates and branch offices, representative offices set up in the Philippines, Java (now Indonesia), Sumatra, Borneo, and Hong Kong
1952
August
Engineers sent to Taiwan to provide technical service training truck
1966
February
Representative office established in Nairobi, Kenya (closed in February 1978)
1970
August
1st Engine Cooling Performance and Air Conditioner Performance Test conducted in Death Valley, U.S.A.
November
1st Technical Servicing Conference held in the Middle East:
- Thereafter, held in Europe (March 1971), North America (June 1972), Australia and South Africa (October 1976), and Southeast Asia (November 1978)
1973
October
1st Service Technician Training and Servicing of Customers held before TASS established in China(last held in 1987)
1974
January
1st Heater Performance and Startability Test conducted in Canada
August
1st Engine Cooling Performance and Air Conditioner Performance test conduced in the Middle East
1976
August
OJT team sent to Saudi Arabia for two years to strengthen organizing service systems
1978
March
Athens Representative office established in Greece (closed in March 1984)
May
Panama Representative office established in Panama
September
1st Service Management Seminar held in Southeast Asia:
- Thereafter, held in Latin America and the Caribbean (July 1980), Europe (October 1983), and the Middle East (April 1984)
1980
January
Service technicians sent to Iraq (in association with sales contract with socialist countries) (until 1990)
July
Automobile Repair Company Beijing established
1981
February
Field Operations Manager system launched
1982
January
Toyota Quality Service (TQS) campaign commenced
March
Guangzhou Toyota Motor Authorized Service Co., LTD. established in China
1983
February
Toyota Parts and Service Award Program launched
September
'Look East' trainees from Malaysia accepted
1985
January
TQS Basic Program began
January
Certification and award according to the Award Criteria system introduced to Toyota Parts and Service Award Program
April
Internal Technical Service Meeting held
December
1st International Service Conference held (annually until 1995)
December
1st Product Technical Meeting held (annually until 1996)
1986
November
Technical training in developing countries started
1988
 
'Fix It Right' campaign launched
 
CSI Manual published; surveys commenced
1989
 
Lexus service systems built:
- Factory Technical Engineers (FTE) sent to the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East Engineers sent to support local dealers
 
Technician training program, New TEAM (New Technical Education for Automotive Mastery) launched
1990
October
TMME (Europe) Training Center established
 
Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) introduced
 
Toyota Service Training Network vision developed
1991
April
1st Annual Assembly of International Customer Service Champions held (continues to the present)
1991
 
Toyota Training Center in Bahrain established
 
Regional Technician Skills Grand Prix held annually:
- Europe (1991), the Middle East (1992), Asia (1993), Latin America (1994)
1992
April
Toyota Training Center in Vladivostok, Russia established
November
Toyota Training Center in Sydney, Australia established
 
Toyota Authorized Service Station (TASS) established in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China
1993
December
Toyota Training Center in Panama established
 
Diagnostic tool, Intelligent Tester, developed and introduced
1994
October
Toyota Training Center in Kenya established
 
Toyota Customer Service Marketing (TSM) program developed
 
BP (body paint) technician step program launched
 
Prioritized Quick Resolution (PQR) activities strengthened
1995
July
TMME Toyota Training Center BP Facility established
October
BP facility opened at the Toyota Training Centre in Bahrain
1996
November
BP category added to regional Technician Skills Grand Prix
 
TOPPS (Toyota Parts Procurement System) developed
 
BP Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) introduced
1997
September
TOYOTA CARAVAN held
October
BP facility opened at the Toyota Training Center in Panama
November
BP technician certification program begins
1998
February
TSIN (Toyota Service Information Network) introduced
1999
April
Toyota Technical Training Centre in Cameroon established
 
Overseas servicing systems for Prius hybrids built
2000
November
Web portal on overseas customer service operations, OASIS(Overseas After Sales Information System) , launched
2002
 
TSM (Toyota Custer Service Workshop Management) Kaizen Dojo open at Toyota Technical Training Centers in Bahrain and Panama
 
'TEAM21' (Technical Education for Automotive Mastery in the 21st Century)introduced as revamped version of New TEAH technician's step-up training program
2003
November
BP added into TSM program
 
Proactive Prevention activities begins
 
CQE (Customer Quality Engineering office) in North America starts EDER (Early Detection Early Resolution)
2004
July
New diagnostic tool, Intelligent Tester II, developed and introduced
November
Toyota Motor Technical Research and Service in Shanghai and Guangzhou, China established
 
Service system for Innovative International Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) project launched globally
 
Service systems for HV (hybrid vehicles) built
 
GLOVE (Global Vehicle Operation & Environment Information System) introduced
2005
June
Customer Service Operations Group established
 
TRIGGER system (Technical Report & Information Gathering System for Global EDER) developed
 
Service systems for TPCA-made (Czech Republic) Aygo built
2007
September
Diagnostic tool, Tech Stream, introduced in the U.S.
2008
September
TSM Kodawari program introduced
 
New service advisor program, TSA21 (Toyota Service Advisor 21 Century) , introduced
2010
December
New OASIS launched
2011
March
Global Service Center (GSC) construction decided
Year
Month
Events
1959
October
First English repair manual published
1960
January
Technical Report established
January
Warranty application system to all new Toyota vehicles introduced The warranty period for 3 months or 4,000 miles whichever comes first after vehicle is in service
1971
April
Regulation Report established
1978
January
Marketing Product Report (MPR) established
October
First annual repair manual for technicians in North America published
1979
September
3 years corrosion perforation warranty introduced in North America
1981
June
Overseas vehicle order system introduced
1983
October
Toyota Warranty Standard System (TOWASS) introduced to Europe
1984
January
Diagnosis manual for electronic components published
1989
October
Long Term warranty for corrosion was offered in Europe also offered in North America in September 1986
1995
 
Electronic editing system introduced
2003
 
Warranty system CROWN 21 (21st Century Revolutionary Overseas Warranty Network) developed and introduced
2005
 
Electronic repair manual officially introduced overseas

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