Toyota Honorary Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda Passes Away at 97

Shoichiro Toyoda, Toyota Motor's honorary chairman who transformed the Japanese automaker into a leading global brand, died of heart failure on Tuesday, the company announced. He was 97. The establishment of a culture of quality control at the company, which assisted it in developing into a leading automaker, is credited to Toyoda, a third-generation scion of the founding family who inherited its stake in the company. He also pushed Toyota, which began as a manufacturer of looms, to start making cars abroad. Toyoda, who was born on February 27, 1925, paved the way for the Japanese automaker to develop into one of the most well-known brands in the world.

Shoichiro Toyoda, who joined the company as a board member at the age of just 27, is the grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Motor Co., and Sakichi Toyoda, who established the Toyota group. In 1961, he was appointed managing director in recognition of his efforts to raise product quality. In 1972 and 1981, he was promoted to executive vice president and given the title of president of Toyota's sales division.

He took over management of the newly integrated Toyota Motor a year after the production and sales organisations merged, and he later served as chairman of the board from 1992 to 1999.

On the strength of Japan's economic expansion, Toyoda accelerated overseas production. Toyota, with headquarters in Aichi Prefecture, established a joint venture with General Motors in the US in 1984. The company's production capacity was significantly increased in 1986 by the construction of plants in Kentucky, the U.S., as well as in Canada. Toyota actively branched out beyond the North American market in the 1980s as well. The global auto giant currently operates production facilities in Europe, China, and Africa.

Toyoda concentrated his efforts on the housing industry in keeping with the family tradition of starting a new business every generation. His father Kiichiro began the production of automobiles, while his grandfather Sakichi began the manufacture of looms. Toyota Housing, the Toyoda-founded company, is now a crucial division of Prime Life Technologies, a partnership between Toyota, Panasonic Holdings, and Mitsui & Co. As Toyota works to create next-generation cities that incorporate electric vehicles and housing, it has played a significant role. Through 1998, Toyoda led the Japan Business Federation, the nation's largest business lobby, for four years as he struggled to revive the country's sluggish economy and implement administrative and financial reforms.

Even after stepping down from the board in 2009, Toyoda retained significant control over the business, which is now one of the biggest automakers in the world. Since 1999, Toyoda has served as honorary chairman.

He was a Nagoya native who served as chairman of the group that organised the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, which helped the city's economy grow. He also served as the head of Kaiyo Academy, an all-male boarding school he helped establish in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, which is modeled after a British private school. Toyoda was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in the United States in 2007.