The history of Toyota began at the end of the19th century when Sakichi Toyoda invented the first automatic loom, that revolutionized the textile industry in Japan. Captivated by the incipient automotive industry, in 1929 Sakichi sold the rights of his loom patent to the British company,Platt Brothers, and invested the income in the development of the first Toyota vehicle.

Kiichiro Toyoda, the son of Sakichi, made the investigations into engine development and founds, in 1932, the Automotive Division of Toyota Automatic Loom Works. Finally in 1937, Kiichiro produces the first prototype of automobile and establishes the foundations of Motor Toyota Ltd Corporation.

The TPS system Production of Toyotá, of 1970, is one of the main legacies of Toyota. Based on the principles of Jidoka, Just-in-Time and Kaizen, the system is a fundamental factor in the reduction of inventories and defects in the plants of Toyota and its suppliers, and sustains all the world-wide operations. The TPS, with its emphasis on continuous improvement and the value of the commitment of the Toyota employees, is considered by the automotive industry as an authentic benchmark in automotive manufacturing.

The strategy of growth for Toyota was impelled by its intoduction to the international market. The production of vehicles outside Japan began in 1959 in a small plant in Brazil. Expansion continued with an increasing network of industrial plants around the world, reaching world-wide recognition in the mid sixties with the development and installation of industrial plants in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 1980, Toyota produced more than 30 million vehicles at a world-wide level, surpassing the 100 million units in 1997. To this date already they have produced more than 140 million units. Toyota is the second largest manufacturer of vehicles at a world-wide level, with an ample range of models, from small cars to trucks.

The 2006 4Runner establishes many new innovations. Now included is a newly available 260 horsepower V8 with VVT-i. 4Runner is a high technology vehicle able to cross almost any inhospitable land with its limited sliding differential and Global Positioning Navigation system.