Eiji Toyoda, Who Made Toyota Into A Global Powerhouse, Changed Manufacturing, Dies At 100
Toyota Motor Corp. said in a statement that Eiji Toyoda, the man responsible for growing Toyota into a global powerhouse, died today. Toyoda had just turned 100 years old last week. The cause of death was listed as heart failure. Toyoda was a cousin of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Japan’s largest car company and he took over management of the family business in 1967 and served as president until 1982, when Toyota Motor Co. and Toyota Sales were merged and he became chairman of the combined corporation, holding that position until 1992.
Perhaps Toyoda’s greatest talent was learning from others. He was such an adept student that by the time Toyoda retired, those other automakers were using Toyota as a benchmark of manufacturing excellence.
Eiji Toyota was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, Dearborn, Michigan, in 1994, the second Japanese automaker to be inducted, after Soichiro Honda
Once Toyota was well established as global vendor of mass market cars, Toyoda also spearheaded the development of Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand to take on companies like BMW and Mercedes-Benz. He was inducted into the U.S. Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan in 1994, the second Japanese auto executive so honored, after Soichiro Honda.
“As a member of the automobile industry, this is indeed a great moment for me,” he said in a statement upon his induction. “Ever since Toyota’s establishment in 1937, I have been involved in this wonderful business, and as long as my engine keeps running, I intend to give back as much as I can for the industry’s further development.”
Toyoda was born on Sept. 12, 1913, near Nagoya, the second son of Heikichi and Nao. He grew up within his father’s textile mill, according to his autobiography, Toyota: Fifty Years in Motion. A member of a prestigious family, he gained admission to the University of Tokyo where he received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1936. Following graduation, he joined the family business, Toyoda Automatic Loom Works Ltd., working for his uncle, Sakichi Toyoda, who had invented a loom that automatically shut itself off when a piece of fabric broke. Jidoka, the use of machines that shut down when problems are detected, would later be a hallmark of Toyota manufacturing. In 1937, Sakichi’s son, Kiichiro, who had been heading Toyoda Automatic Loom Works automotive division, founded Toyota Motor bringing his younger cousin, then in his 20s, into the new enterprise.
Eiji Toyoda started out on the factory floor before working his way up in the family business to head production planning. He became a director of the company in 1945. Given a great deal of autonomy, he had a major role in establishing the company headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi prefecture.
A private family funeral service will be held, Toyota Motor Corp. said in a statement. He had three sons and a daughter with his late wife, Kazuko. He is survived by his eldest son, Kanshiro, according to Toyota’s statement. Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, and Eiji Toyoda’s first cousin, twice removed, currently heads the automobile company.
Thanks to William Chapin, director of the Automotive Hall of Fame, for giving TTAC access to their display honoring inductee Eiji Toyoda on very short notice. The Chapins, like the Toyodas, are an automotive family. Bill’s father Roy Jr. ran American Motors and his grandfather Roy Sr. ran Hudson.
Eiji Toyota was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, Dearborn, Michigan, in 1997
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It says something that others are more open to using the best of American technology and improving upon it, where we as a country are more resistant to any change. It is always smart to be open to ideas of others. We should be more open to ideas of others. Mr. Toyoda was a wise man and he lived a long full life. What better thing can you say about a man than that.
I have to wonder what this will mean for Toyota. It wasn't long after Mr. Honda passed that Honda started it's slow decent into mediocrity.