A Century Of Brilliance: Eiji Toyoda Passes Away

The Toyota Motor Corporation late on September 17th 2013 announced the death of one of their greatest leaders – Eiji Toyoda – just days after he completed his 100th birthday. Eiji Toyoda was the man behind Toyota’s rise to fame and global dominance and he was responsible for bringing the company into profit and making them one of the largest car manufacturers in the world today.

Born in 1913, he was the cousin of the company’s founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. Eiji studied mechanical engineering and after graduation was asked by his cousin to join the company. Eiji’s first order of business was to oversee construction of a plant close to Nagoya – the plant is now the site of Toyota City. Kiischiro and Eiji were considered to be very close and Eiji was asked to travel to the United States and train at Ford Motor Company’s plant in Michigan in the 1950s, so that he could bring back knowledge of American manufacturing technologies. This is where Eiji learned about the American’s mass production methods, but he implemented a very unique qualitative approach, which went on to become a model for global production techniques all over the world and became to be known as ‘the Toyota Way’.

Eiji then went on to crack the US market in his second attempt with the Toyota Corolla in 1968. Eiji was the fifth president of the company and the longest serving chief. Eiji decided to step down from presidency of the company in 1981 but assumed the position as Chairman. He was also responsible for Toyota’s entry into the luxury car market and formed Lexus in 1989.

Eiji stepped down as Chairman of Toyota in 1994 and continued as an honorary member of the board, and was subsequently inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in the US. He also received numerous awards from many different countries for his significant role in the automotive and industrial sectors. Eiji passed away due to heart failure in a clinic in Toyota City, but his legacy will forever continue in every industry. We at autoX would like to pay respect to the man who shaped the automotive world into what it is today.