Central Motors
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Central Motor Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cars within the
Toyota Group The is a group of companies that have supplier, vendor and investment relationships with Toyota Industries and Toyota Motor vehicle manufacturing facilities. It is similar to a ''keiretsu'' in that no particular entity has outright control over ...
. It was founded on 4 September 1950 by Ryuichi Tomiya. The company operated five plants, all located in Japan. It was one of the biggest export vehicle manufacturers of the concern. In July 2012 it was merged with two other Toyota subsidiaries operating in Tohoku to form
Toyota Motor East Japan Toyota Motor East Japan is a manufacturing subsidiary of the Toyota group based in Japan. It was founded in July 2012 by the merger of Central Motors, Kanto Auto Works and Toyota Motors Tohoku. History Following the Tōhoku earthquake, the Pre ...
.


History

Central Motors was the operational successor of ( Kamata, Tokyo). In 1950, employees of the Kamata Plant were made redundant after it was closed down by Toyota. They founded Central Motors that year and began producing
light commercial vehicle A light commercial vehicle (LCV) in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand is a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons (tonnes). The LCV designation is also occasionally used in both Canad ...
s for Toyota in 1956. In 1959, Toyota acquired the company and moved the production from Kamata to
Sagamihara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...
which would later also become the headquarters base. The company opened various facilities for auto parts production. A new assembly plant and headquarters were built in Ohira, Miyagi. The new facility started production in January 2011 and the Sagamihara plant was closed later that year. On 1 July 2012, three Toyota subcontractors (Central Motors,
Toyota Motors Tohoku Toyota Motors Tohoku was an auto parts manufacturing subcontractor under the Toyota Group. The company was created in July 1997 in Taiwa, Miyagi, Japan. On July 1, 2012, three Toyota subcontractors Central Motors, Toyota Motors Tohoku, and Kanto ...
and
Kanto Auto Works was a Japanese car manufacturer. It was a member of the Toyota Group. In July 2012, Kanto Auto Works and two other Toyota subsidiaries were merged to form Toyota Motor East Japan. History In April 1946, Kanto Auto Works was established in Y ...
) were combined into a single company, with all their manufacturing facilities and assets renamed as
Toyota Motor East Japan Toyota Motor East Japan is a manufacturing subsidiary of the Toyota group based in Japan. It was founded in July 2012 by the merger of Central Motors, Kanto Auto Works and Toyota Motors Tohoku. History Following the Tōhoku earthquake, the Pre ...
, Inc. After the merger of the three former companies, the corporate headquarters was established at the former Central Motors site in Miyagi. There were just over 1,500 employees at the Central Motors location.


Operations

At closing, Central Motors operated the following facilities: *Ohira, Miyagi (headquarters) *Ohira, Miyagi (car assembly plant) *
Wakayanagi, Miyagi was a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kurihara District, Miyagi, Kurihara District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. In 2003, the town had an estimated population of 14,149 and a population density of 269.20 persons per km². The total area is ...
(auto parts plant) Central Motors mainly manufactured vehicles meant for export to Europe or North America. Special vehicles such as police, fire department vehicles as well as campers were produced by the company. Production also included
CKD kits A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...
of the
Toyota Tundra The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100), but the ...
.


Model gallery

File:1956 Toyota Toyoace 01.jpg, Toyopet Toyoace SKB
1956–1959 File:1956 Toyopet Masterline-Van 01.jpg, Toyopet Masterline
1957–1961 File:Toyota Publica Convertible.jpg, Toyopet Publica Convertible
1963–1968 File:Toyota Corona Pickup RT40.jpg, Toyopet Corona Pickup
(1964 bis 1968) File:T40Coronavan.jpg, Toyopet Corona Van
1965–1970 File:1977 Toyota Corona (RT118) station wagon (2015-11-11) 01.jpg, Toyopet Corona Van
1973–1978 File:Toyota Crown S80 002.JPG, Toyopet Crown Station Wagon
1974–1979 File:Toyota Carina Bj ca 1971 photo 2008 Castle Hedingham.JPG,
Toyota Carina The is an automobile which was manufactured by Toyota from December 1970 to December 2001. It was introduced as a sedan counterpart of the Celica, with which it originally shared a platform. Later, it was realigned to the Corona platform, but re ...

1975–1977 File:1978Carina.jpg,
Toyota Carina The is an automobile which was manufactured by Toyota from December 1970 to December 2001. It was introduced as a sedan counterpart of the Celica, with which it originally shared a platform. Later, it was realigned to the Corona platform, but re ...

1977–1981 File:1981 Toyota Corona (XT130) SE sedan (2016-01-04) 01.jpg, Toyota Corona Sedan
1978–1981 File:1979 Toyota Corona (XT130) SE station wagon (2015-06-15) 01.jpg, Toyota Corona Van
(1978–1982) File:6th generation Toyota Crown Wagon.jpg, Toyota Crown Station Wagon
1979–1983 File:Toyota carina a60.jpg,
Toyota Carina The is an automobile which was manufactured by Toyota from December 1970 to December 2001. It was introduced as a sedan counterpart of the Celica, with which it originally shared a platform. Later, it was realigned to the Corona platform, but re ...

1981–1987 File:1985 Toyota Corona (ST141) S station wagon (2009-01-16).jpg, Toyota Corona Van
1982–1987 File:Toyota MR2 1587cc first registered January 1990.JPG,
Toyota MR2 The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (2000–2007). It ...

1984–1989 File:Toyota MR2 (SW20) ca 1995 at Snetterton 2008.JPG,
Toyota MR2 The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (2000–2007). It ...

1989–1999 File:Toyota_Sera.JPG,
Toyota Sera The Toyota Sera (model designation EXY10) is a 3-door 2+2 hatchback coupe manufactured and marketed by Toyota from 1990 to 1996. The Sera debuted in 1988 as the Toyota AXV-II concept car in a near production-ready form, and is noted for its ...

1990–1995 File:1992 Toyota Caldina 01.jpg,
Toyota Caldina The is an automobile manufactured by Toyota for the Japanese market from 1992 to 2007. It replaced the Corona and Carina wagons, and was sold at ''Toyota Store'' and ''Toyopet Store'' locations in Japan. While the Caldina has never been official ...

1993–1997 File:Toyota Caldina van.jpg, Toyota Caldina Van
1993–2002 File:Toyota Hiace Wagon 011.JPG,
Toyota Hiace The (pronounced "High Ace") is a light commercial vehicle produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. First launched in October 1967, the HiAce has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a minivan/ ...

1993–1996 File:Toyota Hiace Wagon 006.JPG,
Toyota Hiace The (pronounced "High Ace") is a light commercial vehicle produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. First launched in October 1967, the HiAce has since been available in a wide range of body configurations, including a minivan/ ...

1996–2000 File:Z10 Toyota Raum 1.jpg,
Toyota Raum The Toyota Raum is 5-seater mini MPV that first appeared in May 1997. The second generation was released in May 2003. It was sold only in Japan at ''Toyota Netz'' retail sales channels. The vehicle's name is German for chamber, berth, room, spac ...

1997–2003 File:2002 Toyota MR2 (ZZW30R) Spyder convertible (2015-08-07) 01.jpg, Toyota MR-S
1999–2007 File:Toyota WiLL Vi.jpg, WiLL Vi
2000–2001 File:Toyota Willvs.jpg, WiLL VS
2001–2004 File:2004-2006 Toyota Allex.jpg,
Toyota Allex The Toyota Corolla (E120/E130) is the ninth generation of compact cars sold by Toyota under the Corolla nameplate. In Japan, this series arrived to the market in August 2000; however, exports were typically not achieved until 2001 and 2002 depe ...

2001–2007 File:2001-2002 Toyota Corolla Runx.jpg,
Toyota Corolla RunX The Toyota Corolla (E120/E130) is the ninth generation of compact cars sold by Toyota under the Corolla nameplate. In Japan, this series arrived to the market in August 2000; however, exports were typically not achieved until 2001 and 2002 depen ...

2001–2007 File:WiLL Cypha 003.JPG, WiLL Cypha
2002–2005 File:Z20 Toyota Raum 1.jpg,
Toyota Raum The Toyota Raum is 5-seater mini MPV that first appeared in May 1997. The second generation was released in May 2003. It was sold only in Japan at ''Toyota Netz'' retail sales channels. The vehicle's name is German for chamber, berth, room, spac ...

since 2003 File:2000 Toyota bB 01.jpg,
Toyota bB is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

2004–2005 File:2008 Toyota bB 01.jpg,
Toyota bB is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

2005–2007 File:2007-2010 Toyota Corolla (ZRE152R) Ascent sedan (2011-04-02).jpg,
Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

2006–2013 File:2006 Toyota Corolla-Axio 02.jpg, Toyota Corolla Axio
2006–2012 File:2008 Toyota Belta 01.jpg,
Toyota Belta The , referred to in North American and Australian markets as the Yaris and in Asian markets as the Vios, is a subcompact sedan manufactured by Toyota. The successor to the Platz sedan, the Belta has increased in size over the previous gen ...

2007–2012 File:2013 Toyota Corolla-Axio-Hybrid 01.jpg, Toyota Corolla Axio
since 2012
Additional models that have no pictures yet: *
Toyota Dyna The Toyota Dyna is a light to medium-duty cab over truck for commercial use. In the Japanese market, the Dyna is sold alongside its twin called the Toyoace. The Toyoace was a renaming of the Toyopet SKB Truck as a result of a 1956 public competi ...
(1957–1959) *Toyopet Type FS Ambulance (1961–1968) * Toyopet Corona Mark II PickUp (1968–1971) * Toyopet Crown Station Wagon (1973–1974) * Toyopet Corona Van (1970–1973) * Toyota Carina Surf (1982–1987) *
Toyota Tundra The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100), but the ...
(CKD kits only)


Notes


References


External links

* {{Japan Toyota subcontracting assembly Car manufacturers of Japan Toyota subsidiaries Companies based in Miyagi Prefecture Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1950 Japanese companies established in 1950 Ōhira, Miyagi