BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Section 2 The Expansion of Global BusinessHonda motorcycles for export1 Export of MotorcyclesIn 1950, Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., established an export department andbegan investigating overseas market development. Initially, trucks and buses fordeveloping countries were mainly used for reparations purposes, and automobileexports only began in earnest after 1956. Toyota exports numbered 869 in 1956and 4,117 in 1957, nearly half of which were Land Cruiser.Toyoda Tsusho handled Honda and Suzuki-brand motorcycles. The companyexported Honda’s motorcycles to Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia andSingapore, and to South American countries, such as Peru, Venezuela, and Chile,and exported Suzuki’s motorcycles to Taiwan and Thailand.In the mid-1950s, demand for automobiles and machinery was increasing inSoutheast Asia. However, because of the lack of foreign currency counterpurchasetrading increased, whereby imported goods are paid with exports from theimporting country. In response to this, Toyoda Tsusho negotiated mainly on bartertrading and increased exports of motorcycles and textile machinery to developingcountries.2 Beginning the Export of Toyota VehiclesToyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., was aiming to expand exports overseas, but wasnot yet successful in doing so in the 1960s. As a result, aside from a good presencein the U.S., Toyota vehicles had a weak presence in Southeast Asia and Centraland South America.Toyoda Tsusho became the pioneer in Toyota vehicle exports. The companytook over exports to developing countries that were difficult for Toyota MotorSales to handle. In July 1963, Toyoda Tsusho established the Osaka VehicleDepartment in the Osaka Branch. In February of the following year, the companyestablished its Vehicle Department and Tokyo Vehicle Section. Then, in September1964, the Osaka Vehicle Department was moved to Tokyo, and Tokyo VehicleSection 1 and Section 2 were established. By making use of general tradingcompany functions, such as barter transactions and deferred payments, ToyodaTsusho expanded exports of Toyota vehicles to Southeast Asia, Central and SouthToyota Tiara 1900 sample export (March 1964)66