Japanese Car Companies – Why They Consistently Excel on the World Stage

Japan is considered as the world’s largest automobile manufacturer and exporter as the home of six out of the ten largest manufacturers of automobiles throughout the world. The Japanese started building automobiles around early 1900s through the zaibatsu or conglomerates and started gaining popularity worldwide by the 1960s due to their affordability and reliability. Popular Japanese car brands include Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Toyota

Established in 1937, Toyota Motor Corporation was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, son of Toyota Industries founder, Sakichi Toyoda. The company was established specifically to manufacture automobiles and has grown to become a multinational corporation with major and minor holdings in other car manufacturing companies with 522 subsidiaries. Today Toyota is the world’s largest automobile manufacturer which also includes the Lexus brand for its luxury line of cars while the Scion brand targets the Generation Y market.

The long list of Toyota car models includes:

• Toyota Crown – the first model to be introduced in the U.S. market in 1957
• Toyota Corolla – a compact car that had been named as the best selling model worldwide in 1997
• Toyota Camry – initially a compact car, it has become a mid-size car with coupé and convertible and eventually with its own line as Camry Solara by 1999
• Toyota Prius – the first mass-produced hybrid electric car in 1997 and sold globally by 2001
• Toyota Auris – compact hatchback available in 3 door and 5 door
• Toyota 4Runner – SUV introduced in 1984 originally as a compact SUV but had been developed since. It is also called as Toyota Hilux Surf in Japan.

Honda

Cited as the world’s 5th largest manufacturer of automobiles, Honda Motor Company, Limited started off in 1948 as small manufacturing firm and released its first car in 1963 as the company focused on motorcycles initially. It manufactured the first Japanese luxury car, the Legend in 1985. Honda is known for producing the most fuel-efficient vehicles and it now offers the FCX Clarity, which is considered as more efficient than hybrid cars since it runs on hydrogen-powered fuel-cell.

Other Honda car models include:

• Honda Civic – compact car launched in 1972 initially as a two-door coupe, it has evolved to include sedan and hybrid
• Honda Accord – introduced as a compact hatchback in 1976 which now includes coupe and sedan
• Honda CR-V – compact crossover SUV manufactured since 1996
• Honda Element – compact crossover SUV introduced in 2003

These are just two examples of the quality of Japanese car making and Japanese car manufacturing industry.

by Giselle Sanchez – If you are looking for toyota car parts or honda car parts find out how to get free quotes on your auto parts or buy or sell them online.