Toyota Motor Corporation: A Global Giant’s Bold Transformation and Journey Toward the Future

“What comes to mind when you hear Toyota?” If asked this question, most people would probably think of “reliable cars” or hybrid vehicles like the “Prius.” But today’s Toyota is engaged in initiatives that far exceed our imagination.

Toyota Motor Corporation, headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, is now 87 years old since its founding. The company is currently in the midst of a major transformation from an “automaker” to a “mobility company.” Under President and CEO Koji Sato, new challenges that transcend the traditional framework of automotive manufacturing have begun.

The Philosophy That Toyota Holds Dear

The secret to Toyota’s strength lies undoubtedly in its solid corporate philosophy. The “Toyota Guiding Principles,” formulated in January 1992 and revised in April 1997, still serve as the company’s guiding compass today.

To summarize these basic principles simply: Toyota aims to be a company trusted worldwide while respecting laws and their spirit. It wants to respect the culture of each country and contribute to social development through community-rooted activities. It seeks to create clean and safe products while working toward building a livable planet and prosperous society. Through cutting-edge technology research and development, it strives to provide attractive products and services that meet customers’ needs worldwide. Additionally, it aims to create a corporate culture that maximizes individual creativity and teamwork strength based on mutual trust and responsibility between labor and management, pursuing harmonious growth with society through global and innovative management.

These principles are by no means mere decorations. They are deeply rooted in actual management and serve as a compass that shows the company’s direction even during difficult times.

More Than Just an Automaker: Toyota’s Business Expansion

While you might have a strong image of “Toyota = Cars,” the scope of their business is actually quite broad.

Of course, the automotive business is central, with the company planning vehicle production exceeding 10 million units in 2025 for the first time in two years—a massive scale operation. They offer a wide lineup from passenger cars like the Prius, Camry, and Crown, to commercial vehicles like the HiAce, and luxury cars under the Lexus brand.

However, what deserves attention are their other businesses. In financial services, they focus on sales financing as a core business to promote automobile sales, while also venturing into new business areas to realize a better mobility society. The scale is enormous—they provide automotive loans, leases, and other automotive sales financial services to approximately 8.6 million customers in 34 countries and regions worldwide.

Domestically, they handle not only auto loans but also credit cards and housing loans. Toyota Finance issues payment services like the “TS CUBIC CARD” and “TOYOTA Wallet,” contributing to the realization of a cashless society.

2025: The Reality Toyota Faces

When discussing today’s Toyota, we cannot avoid the certification irregularities that came to light in 2024. Following the successive discovery of irregularities in certification tests for vehicle type designation applications in May and July 2024, President and CEO Koji Sato declared the fiscal year ending March 2025 as a period of “foundation building.”

In response to this issue, Toyota is undertaking fundamental business process reviews. What’s interesting is that despite this difficult period, the company has made the decision to strengthen investments in “people and growth areas” for sustainable growth, expanding the originally planned 700 billion yen for fiscal 2025 to 830 billion yen—an increase of 130 billion yen.

Additionally, while new challenges have emerged with U.S. President Trump’s tariff policies, Toyota has shown strong determination that domestic production of 3 million units remains “unwavering.”

The Future City “Woven City” Envisioning a New Society

One of Toyota’s most ambitious initiatives is the experimental city “Woven City” under construction in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The announcement of its official launch in fall 2025 or later truly demonstrates Toyota’s serious commitment to the future.

Built with the concept that Inventors who have the spirit of “for someone other than themselves” will create and demonstrate their own products and services in Woven City to expand “mobility,” this city is not just a residential area.

Initially, approximately 100 people, mainly Toyota and WbyT-related personnel and their families, are scheduled to move in, with the final plan being for approximately 2,000 people to live in “Woven City” including Phase 2 and beyond.

Here, autonomous vehicles will run daily, AI and robots will support daily life, and sustainable living using hydrogen energy will be realized. It will become a place where you can experience the future lifestyle seen in movies as a reality.

The Future That Toyota Envisions During Its Transformation

Today’s Toyota is by no means resting on its laurels. While leveraging the situation where Japanese automakers capable of promoting both HEVs and EVs have opportunities, they are exploring new growth strategies.

Particularly noteworthy is their ambitious goal of expanding the value chain of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV) and challenging the seemingly impossible target for manufacturing companies of “aiming for ROE levels of around 20%.”

This represents a challenge that greatly overturns the conventional wisdom of traditional manufacturing. Rather than just making cars as “products,” they aim to achieve higher profitability by providing continuous value through software and services.

The Corporate Model Toyota Demonstrates for the Future

From Toyota’s stance of continuing to invest in the future despite experiencing the trial of certification irregularities, there is much to learn. A company’s true worth is tested when problems arise. Toyota is not yielding to temporary difficulties but is proceeding with transformation from a long-term perspective.

The decision to invest 700 billion yen in “growth areas” such as Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), hydrogen, and software is precisely a manifestation of this approach.

Also impressive is the attitude of trying to create new value by combining their own strengths with those of other industries, as expressed in Chairman Akio Toyoda’s words about “multiplication-based invention.”

A Message for Those of Us Living in Times of Change

Looking at Toyota’s current initiatives, we can see hints about how to survive in an era of rapid change. Maintain solid principles while flexibly evolving to match the times. Continue investing in the future even during difficult periods. And above all, cherish the spirit of “for someone other than themselves.”

The sight of this giant corporation with 87 years of history continuing to maintain the spirit of challenge like a startup is truly inspiring for each of us as individuals.

We still can’t take our eyes off Toyota’s future journey. Starting with the launch of Woven City in fall 2025, it’s very exciting to see what kind of future this company will pioneer.