In recent years, Toyota succeeded to increase its US production and pushed the Camry to the no. 1 spot, gunning down the Honda Accord and Ford Taurus. It also derived more models out of the Camry platform (hence building in the same plant), such as Sienna, Avalon and Lexus RX300. The Kentucky plant also recorded the highest output per worker in the world. 

The Japanese models are still very complex - a mixture of old fashion cars like Crown / Mark II and some innovative new models. The Vitz (Yaris) is especially successful, as it won the European Car of the Year. The Belgium-styled super mini will also be produced in a new factory in Northern France since 2001. Besides, Altezza (Lexus IS200), Aristo (Lexus GS) and Prius have broken the conservative image dominating the company s sedans for many years. 

Facing the challenge from Volkswagen, Toyota might lose the 3rd place in the near future. However, it is obviously in a good position to revive. The IS200 and Yaris have shown its intention for more globalisation. Moreover, it has plenty of room for improvement - at least its complex model line-up is not yet rationalised. 
  

Corolla - Toyota's best seller

Assembly plants in Japan (most of them in Toyota City) :  
- Honsha (truck/bus) 
- Motomachi (Crown, RAV4, Ipsum) 
- Takaoka (Corolla, Tercel, Paseo, Prius) 
- Tsutsumi (Camry, ES300, Corona, Mark II) 
- Tahara (Crown, GS300, LS400, Carina, Celica, RAV4, Land Cruiser) 
- Kyushu (RX300) 
European plants : 
- Burnaston, UK : produces Avensis and Corolla 
NA plants : 
- NUMMI, US : joint venture of GM to produce Corolla (i.e., Geo Prizm) 
- Kentucky, US : produces Camry, Avalon, Sienna, Solara. 
- TMMC, Canada : produces Corolla 
Asian plants :  
- Indonesia : Crown, Corona, Corolla, Starlet, Land Cruiser 
- Thailand : Corona, Corolla. 
Australia plant : Camry, Corolla 
South Africa plant : produces Corolla, Camry, Land Cruiser. 

R&D center : Toyota City (head office), Mishuku (Susono City), Zaventem (Belgium), Ann Arbor (Michigan, USA) 
Proving ground : Onnebetsu (Shibetsu City),  
Design studio : Tokyo, Zaventem (Belgium), Calty (Newport Beach, California, USA)

But the real growth started in the late 50 s - From 1955 to 1961, production scaled up by 10 folds to 211,000 cars per year. The Crown of 1955 was the first car entirely developed by itself. In 1966, the Corolla was launched as the best seller in its line-up for the following 30 years. In 1972, the company s annual production exceeded the 1 million mark. The 2 million mark was reached 4 years later. Economy boom during those 2 decades benefited all Japanese car makers, but Toyota s unique production system, including the "just in time" parts delivering system, established a solid status as Japan s biggest car maker, consistently beating arch-rival Nissan (Datsun). 

The domestic factories in Toyota City reached their peak in 1990, with over 4 million cars produced that year. Hitting by world-wide recession and the call for protectionism in the US, Toyota had to move more production to overseas, mostly in the US, and reduce domestic production. The Camry, being built in the Kentucky plant, became America s best seller since 1997. The Corolla continues to be the world s biggest selling car.  

The biggest achievement in recent years is the establishment of the Lexus brand, which is a luxurious car division competing with Mercedes and BMW. Launched in 1989, the LS400 immediately outsold its competitors in the US.