History of Toyota in Canada

Anniversaries are exciting celebrations and this year, Toyota has a hit a big one. This year is the 50th Anniversary of Toyota’s presence in Canada. Toyota has helped over 4.6 million Canadians join the Toyota family since 1964. Toyota introduced Canada to a whole range of different vehicles and has unveiled advanced technologies that have helped improve fuel-efficiency and passenger safety throughout the years. Let’s take a look back at the history of Toyota in Canada.

Toyota granted a distributorship agreement to Canadian Motor Industries (CMI) in 1964. In the following year, Toyotas sold 755 vehicles and introduced their brand. In 1967 the Toyota Corolla was first introduced which just goes to show just how far the Corolla has come. 1985 was a big year for Toyota in Canada. They announced a new manufacturing plant in Cambridge, Ontario. They also started producing alloy wheels at Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc. (CAPTIN). Then in 1990 Toyota Credit Canada Inc. was created to support the local need for financial services.

The Toyota RAV4 was introduced in 1996 and soon after that, Toyota opened a Cold Weather Research Centre in Timmins, Ontario. This was a vital research facility to help make Toyota cars that can withstand the intense Canadian winters. Flash forward to 2007 when Toyota made a landmark achievement by selling its 1,000,000th Corolla in Canada. Then in 2010 they hit another impressive record with the 4 millionth Toyota vehicle sold. Now here we are in 2014 and there’s no sign of Toyota slowing down. The company recently sold its 100,000 hybrid in Canada and has released many redesigned 2015 models including the 2015 Toyota Corolla.

Toyota has a long and impressive history with Canada and we can’t wait to see what’s next. From new vehicles to new features, Toyota is always thinking of ways to better benefit drivers. If you want to join the Toyota legacy in Canada, stop by Toyota on the Trail and schedule a test drive with one of our new Toyota or used Toyota vehicles.