Section 4. Construction of the Automotive Department Assembly Plant and Koromo Plant

Item 3. Establishment of Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. and Construction of the Koromo Plant

Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was licensed under the Automotive Manufacturing Industries Law in September 1936 and became obligated to establish automobile mass production systems. The plan for the Koromo Plant, which called for monthly production of 2,000 units, had to be completed one way or another, but the construction costs were estimated to be 30 million yen, far in excess of the fundraising capacity of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, which had capital of six million yen. Accordingly, the establishment of a new company with capital of 32 million yen and raising funds from a broader range of investors was investigated. External circumstances created pressure for the rapid completion of the Koromo Plant, however, and as a result, a new company with capital of 12 million yen was established, plant construction rapidly commenced, and the additional construction costs were borrowed.

In accordance with this plan, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works' Automotive Department was spun off and Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. was established as a new company. The new company's inaugural general meeting was held on August 27, 1937, and registration was completed the following day. The company's basic information at the time of the establishment was as follows.

Business purposes:
  1. 1)Manufacture and sale of automobiles;
  2. 2)Iron and steel making and other refining;
  3. 3)Manufacture and sale of aircraft, spindle and loom, and general machinery; and
  4. 4)Research and invention concerning the preceding paragraphs and the use of such invention and research.
Capital:
12 million yen (9 million yen paid)
Head office:
Maeyama 8, Shimoichiba, Koromo-cho, Nishikamo-gun, Aichi Prefecture
Management team:
President: Risaburo Toyoda; Executive Vice President: Kiichiro Toyoda

Shortly after its establishment, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. conducted a ground-breaking ceremony for the Koromo Plant on September 29, 1937. At the time, Japan was under a wartime system, and not only was the price of steel extremely high, it was difficult to obtain steel for construction. It is said that Toyoda Automatic Loom Works' Steelmaking Department cooperated with the construction of the Koromo Plant by manufacturing reinforcement bars for use in reinforced concrete.2 The plant was constructed under these difficult circumstances, but the plant was completed through the concerted efforts of the entire Toyoda Group.

A portion of the plant construction was completed in April 1938, and the relocation of equipment from Kariya began. Construction of the entire plant was completed at the end of September that year, and the relocation of machinery and equipment from the Kariya manufacturing shop and assembly shop was finished by the end of October. On November 3, the anniversary of the birth of the Emperor Meiji, a completion ceremony for the Koromo Plant was held with the participation of plant-affiliated parties.

Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. was established on August 28, 1937 (the registration date), but it was decided that the company's founding would be designated as November 3, 1938, the effective date of its start as a company (the date of completion of the Koromo Plant).

Construction of other facilities including a test track and an aircraft research building commenced after November 1938 and were completed by March 1939.

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