Fifty years ago, Toyota granted a distributorship agreement to Canadian Motor Industries, Ltd. (CMI), which would later become Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI).
Since those humble beginnings TCI has come a long way. Over the last five decades, Canadians have purchased over 4.6 million TCI vehicles. And today, almost half of the Toyota vehicles sold in Canada are made at facilities operated by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC).
A strong commitment to customer satisfaction is at the heart of Toyota’s 50 years in Canada. Toyota, Scion and Lexus dealerships in Canada have developed a renowned reputation for providing the very best sales and service possible to each and every customer.
“On this special occasion of our 50th anniversary, we thank Canadians for making Toyota a part of their lives, and allowing us to be woven into the social and economic fabric of this great country,” said Seiji Ichii, President and CEO of TCI. “Our customers are the inspiration that motivates us — and they are behind the passion that drives our innovation in the automotive industry.”
Today, TCI employs 700 associates. The total number of Canadians employed by Toyota in Canada reaches about 11,000 when adding team members, as well as at Toyota Financial Services (TFS) — which provides retail, leasing and wholesale financial services to Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships and customers across Canada. When adding the network of 285 dealerships from coast to coast, total employment reaches approximately 24,000 Canadians.
Since 1988, TMMC has been assembling popular vehicles right here in Canada. Examples include the Toyota Corolla and RAV4, as well as the Lexus RX350 and RX450, built at Toyota’s award-winning Cambridge and Woodstock plants. And this year, TMMC also celebrated the production of its six millionth vehicle.
Toyota’s investment in Canada also extends to its commitment to enrich and support Canadian communities with support from its dealerships, Toyota Canada Inc. and the Toyota Canada Foundation, with a primary focus on the environment, safety education, and quality. Toyota and its dealerships support the Toyota Evergreen Learning Grounds program that has naturalized over 2,000 Canadian schools across Canada, while the Toyota sponsored KartSTART program brings unique, hands on experience in driver safety training. In addition, there is support for research in telematics at Canadian universities such as the Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Centre (CSRC) project at the University of Toronto, and breakthrough work is being done by specialists at a dedicated Cold Weather Testing facility in Timmins, Ontario.
