Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS, also known as Toyota USA) is the North American
Toyota
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 ...
sales, marketing, and distribution
subsidiary devoted to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
market. Founded in 1957 in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, TMS currently employs more than 6,500 people. As of spring 2017 Toyota moved to a new campus in
Plano, Texas
Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
History
European settlers came to the area near ...
. Construction of this new facility began in the fall of 2014, and is located at the corner of
Texas State Highway 121
State Highway 121 (SH 121) is a state highway angling from southwest to northeast through north central Texas. It runs from downtown Fort Worth, Texas at the junction of Interstate 35W to Bonham, Texas, just north of a junction with U.S. Hig ...
and Legacy Drive, across the street from the
FedEx Office
FedEx Office Print & Ship Services Inc. ( doing business as FedEx Office; formerly FedEx Kinko's, and earlier simply Kinko's) is an American retail chain that provides an outlet for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground (including Home Delivery) shipp ...
Headquarters, and the
J. C. Penney World Headquarters. The former location of Toyota's headquarters was
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...
, where they supervised 14 regional offices.
![Toyota Dealer in San Francisco Bay Area](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Toyota_Dealer_in_San_Francisco_Bay_Area.jpg)
TMS oversees the sales of Toyota and
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
products in 49 states through a network of over 1,200
Toyota
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 ...
dealers (of whom more than 900 also previously sold
Scion
Scion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
*Scion, a playable class in the game '' Path of Exile'' (2013)
*Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series
*Scions, an alien race in the video game ''B ...
vehicles) and over 200 Lexus dealers. California has the greatest number of Toyota dealerships of any other state at 172 dealerships. Toyota vehicles in Hawaii are distributed by Servco Pacific. TMS develops Toyota's television campaigns and other nationwide marketing materials, and supervises dealer marketing to ensure that dealers present a uniform image. TMS also manages regional distribution, which occurs through 12 parts centers and five vehicle centers. James E. Lentz III is the president of TMS.
Corporate affairs
Corporate headquarters
Plano headquarters move
In 2014 Toyota announced it was moving its United States headquarters to
Plano, Texas
Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
History
European settlers came to the area near ...
in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area.
[ The new headquarters will have around 4,000 total employees, including about 2,000 employees from the current headquarters and 1,000 employees from ]Toyota Financial Services
The business known as Toyota Financial Services covers more than 30 countries and regions, including Japan. Financial services operations are coordinated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota Financial Services ...
, which also was in Torrance. The company plans to permanently move most employees by the time of completion of the new headquarters, late 2016 or early 2017, while initially the company will open a temporary office in Texas and move small groups of employees there in the interim.[Artsy, Avishay.]
Torrance mayor 'very disappointed' Toyota is moving jobs to Texas
Archive
. ''KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...
''. April 28, 2014. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. The administration of the Dallas Japanese School, the supplementary Japanese school serving Japanese citizen and Japanese American children living in the DFW area, stated that it expected to receive an additional 150 students due to the headquarters move.[Toyota's move to North Texas brings more interest in Japanese schooling]
Archive
. ''WFAA-TV
WFAA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Decatur-licensed Estrella TV affiliate KMPX (channel 29) ...
''. June 26, 2014. Retrieved on April 10, 2015.
On Tuesday April 29, 2014, Mayor of Dallas
The Mayor of the City of Dallas is the head of the Dallas City Council. The current mayor is Eric Johnson, who has served one term since 2019 and is the 62nd mayor to serve the position. Dallas operates under a weak-mayor system, and a board-a ...
Mike Rawlings
Michael Scott Rawlings (born August 25, 1954) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 59th Mayor of Dallas, Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the nonpartisan 2011 Dallas mayoral election defeating former Dallas ...
stated that Toyota had considered moving the US offices to the City of Dallas but decided against it due to the quality of the Dallas Independent School District
The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas ( USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the ...
(DISD). A spokesperson of Toyota stated that the company, when deciding where to relocate, considered higher education, K-12 schools, access to the airport, and cost of living. The spokesperson did not say which cities other than Plano were being considered. In response to the move, the mayor of Torrance, Frank Scotto, stated that he was "very disappointed" by the decision.[
Matthew Haag of '']The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...
'' stated that Toyota may have moved its headquarters to suburban Plano because of its similarities to Torrance, another suburban city.
Former headquarters
The company formerly maintained its headquarters in Torrance, California
Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...
in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
. The campus has six buildings,[Hirsch, Jerry.]
Giant new Toyota fuel cell powers buildings rather than cars
" ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. October 21, 2012. Retrieved on May 11, 2013. with a total of of office space.[Hirsch, Jerry and David Undercoffler.]
Toyota to move jobs and marketing headquarters from Torrance to Texas
" ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. April 27, 2014. Retrieved on April 29, 2014. In 2012 a 1.1 megawatt hydrogen fuel cell generator was installed at the campus, giving half of the power for the six buildings during the peak demand period. The generator does not generate emissions. By using the generator, as of 2012 the company saves $130,000 in utility bill charges.[ As of 2014 the headquarters has 5,300 employees.][
On October 31, 1957, Toyota opened its first United States office in a former ]Rambler
Rambler or Ramble may refer to:
Places
* Rambler, Wyoming
* Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong
* The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...
/Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
dealership, at 6000 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
. As of July 2022 that building is still a Toyota dealership. Because the city had airline access to Tokyo and because of the proximity to the Port of Los Angeles the US division of Toyota located its headquarters in the Los Angeles area.[
The Torrance headquarters opened in 1982.][ In 2003 the Toyota South Campus in Torrance received the Golden Nugget Award.
]
Products
Current Toyota products
Passenger cars
* Corolla (gasoline and hybrid)
* Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
(gasoline and hybrid)
* Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
(hybrid)
* Mirai (fuel cell vehicle)
* Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003.
In 2007, th ...
(hybrid)
* Prius Prime
The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (often abbreviated as the Prius and known as the Prius Prime in North America, South Korea, and New Zealand) is a plug-in hybrid liftback manufactured by Toyota. The first-generation model was produced from 2012 t ...
(hybrid)
Sports Cars
* 86
* GR Supra
Crossovers, SUVs and minivans
* 4Runner
* CH-R
* Highlander
* RAV4
* Sequoia
* Sienna
Sienna (from it, terra di Siena, meaning "Siena earth") is an earth pigment containing iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural state, it is yellowish brown and is called raw sienna. When heated, it becomes a reddish brown and is call ...
* Venza
* Corolla Cross
* bZ4X
Pickup trucks
* Tacoma
* Tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
Current Lexus products
Passenger cars
* ES (gasoline and hybrid)
* IS
* LS (gasoline and hybrid)
Coupes
* LC (gasoline and hybrid)
* RC
* RC F
Crossovers and SUVs
* GX
* LX
* NX
* RX
* UX
Distribution
In early 1968, Jim Moran
James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington ...
was contacted by a friend from Chicago who said that Toyota
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 ...
wanted to establish a dealer network in the Southeast U.S. and wanted to talk to him. Moran asked what a ''Toyota'' was. The company had been unsuccessful at breaking into the American market at the end of the 1950s and was trying again. Moran declined, but his friend was insistent that Moran drive one. According to Moran, he tested everything to see if it would break. While cruising at 55mph on the interstate, Moran shifted into reverse, and the engine and transmission survived. Moran concluded that although Toyotas weren't as stylish or comfortable as domestic vehicles, they were well-built, reasonably priced, and destined to change the automotive business. On October 26, 1968 he entered into an agreement to distribute Toyota vehicles from the Port of Jacksonville and Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) was founded that year.
There was a similar story for Thomas H. Friedkin. During the 1960s, one of Friedkin's hobbies was racing cars. He was friends with Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified dur ...
, famous for designing the AC Cobra
The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the Unite ...
and the Shelby Mustang
The Shelby Mustang is a high-performance variant of the Ford Mustang built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1967 and by the Ford Motor Company from 1968 to 1970.
In 2005, Ford revived the Shelby nameplate for a high-performance model of the fi ...
. Shelby had turned down an offer to become a distributor for Toyota because Lee Iacocca told Shelby that "the domestic makers were going to push the Japanese back into the ocean". Shelby introduced Friedkin to Toyota, and Friedkin entered into an agreement to distribute Toyota vehicles from the Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...
. Gulf States Toyota Distributors (GST) was founded in 1969.[Forbes: "Under the Radar" by Doug Donovan]
October 1, 2001[Automotive News: October 29, 2007-U.S. distributors gave Toyota a toehold in a mysterious new market by Kathy Jackson]
/ref>
Toyota Dealers in the remaining 40 states receive their vehicles from Toyota Motor Sales.
Southeast Toyota Distributors
Southeast Toyota Distributors, a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, is the world's largest independent distributor of Toyota vehicles in the United States. With 177 independent Toyota dealers in the five-state region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina, Southeast Toyota sells 24% of Toyota sales in the U.S.
Gulf States Toyota Distributors
Gulf States Toyota Distributors, a subsidiary of Friedkin Group, is the other independent distributor of Toyota vehicles in the United States. Their 158 independent Toyota dealers sell vehicles in the five states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Marketing
Toyota Motor Sales USA purchased the naming rights to the Toyota Center
Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Hous ...
in Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
in 2003. The 20-year deal was worth $95 million; $4.75 million per year. It was the 10th most expensive naming deal for an NBA facility. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
. and was the first time a sports facility in Houston was sponsored by an international company.
See also
* Toyota Motor North America
Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) is the operating subsidiary that oversees all operations of the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Its operations include research and development, manufacturing, sales, market ...
* Gulf States Toyota Distributors
* Southeast Toyota Distributors
* Toyota USA Automobile Museum
* History of the Japanese in Los Angeles
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
References
External links
Toyota USA consumer website
Lexus USA consumer website
DublinToyota.com
{{Authority control
Toyota
American subsidiaries of foreign companies
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1957
Companies based in Plano, Texas
1957 establishments in California