BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Marking Our 70th AnniversaryAs we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, I would like toexpress my deep gratitude to our customers and everyone involved with our company over the years.The company began with the establishment of Toyota Kinyu in 1936. Then changed its name to ToyotaSangyo, which in 1948 became Nisshin Tsusho. This is the 70th anniversary of the establishment of NisshinTsusho, our direct predecessor. During these 70 years, we have overcome a turbulent postwar economy, twooil crises, the bursting of Japan’s economic bubble, the global financial crisis caused by the Lehman Brother’sbankruptcy, and numerous natural disasters. In fact, not only have we overcome these difficulties, we havecontinued to grow as a company.As the Toyota Group’s only general trading company, we secured factory materials and fuel immediatelyafter the war; sold and traded the daily goods, textile machinery, and textile products manufactured by Toyotacompanies; and launched full-scale overseas operations based on the import and export of automobiles,machinery, and metals. In later years, we grew our business so that we could expand the range of products thatwe handle, enhance our distribution functions, expand our domestic and overseas bases, provide logistics andprocessing functions for customers of Toyota Group companies, and support the overseas expansion of theToyota Group and other companies. We have also focused on strengthening our corporate culture and have madeefforts to build a solid financial foundation that is not vulnerable to changes in the external environment.Throughout, Toyota Tsusho has aimed to enhance its role as a value-generating enterprise by strategicallysupplementing functions that it lacked and business fields in which its presence was weak. In the 2000s, wemerged with Kasho Co., Ltd. and with Tomen Corp., and in 2012, we invested in CFAO S.A.S., a French generaltrading company that is well connected in Africa. These actions have not only strengthened our capabilities inthe automotive sector, but they have also enabled us to take on the challenge of expanding into other areas ofbusiness.Today, in what is known as the“fourth industrial revolution,”every industry is experiencing majorchanges centered around new technologies. In the automotive industry, a major once-in-a-century periodof transformation is taking place; an upheaval that is being driven by the introduction of CASE (connected,autonomous, shared, electrified) technologies. Our goal at Toyota Tsusho is to grow as a company that seestechnological innovations as a great opportunity to take our business one step further. We are already takingsteps in this direction, such as by creating a company-wide, cross-functional, specialized organization topromote next mobility and by strengthening our capabilities in electronics.In addition to industrialized nations, we are focusing on emerging nations and regions, notably Africa. Wehope to contribute to local economies through business by being on the ground, by working together with localpeople, and by becoming the first choice for local communities. We will embrace the future with youthful ideas,agility and a willingness to try new ways and to break new ground.Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all the people who have supported us over the yearsand to express my respect and gratitude to all the people at Toyota Tsusho who came before us and built this 70-year history. Thank you.February 2019Ichiro Kashitani President & CEO3