Toyota

1933: A motor division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was started by Kiichiro Toyoda.
1936: Toyota's first production car, the AA.
1937: Toyota Motor Co. Ltd. established.
1947: Small vehicles were sold under the Toyopet brand name (one gets a mention in You Only Live Twice (1964)).
1951: BJ Toyota Jeep (later the Land Cruiser) announced.
1957: Exports of the Toyota Crown to the USA started.
1963: Toyota began building cars in Melbourne, Australia.
1966: Toyota Corolla announced.
1968: Toyota Hilux announced.
1989: The up-market Lexus brand was established in the USA.
1990: Carlos Sainz won the drivers' World Rally title in a 4x4 Toyota Celica (also 1992).
1997: Toyota introduced the Prius petrol-electric hybrid car.
1999: Toyota acquired a majority share of Daihatsu.
2002: Toyota entered F1 racing.
2005: The Lexus brand was launched in .jp.
2009: After a singular lack of success, and badly hit by the "global financial crisis", Toyota withdrew from F1 at the end of the 2009 season.
2010: Toyota became embroiled in a scandal over safety issues with several of its models, particularly in the USA; sales were even suspended in Jan/Feb.
2017, October: Toyota ended car production in Australia.
2018 A Toyota TS050 Hybrid, WEC racing car, won the Le Mans 24-hour race; Toyota had been trying since 2012.