Founded as an automotive division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works in 1933 by Kiichiro Toyoda, Toyota built its first passenger car, the Model AA, in 1936 and became Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. in August 1937 . The global three‑oval emblem debuted in October 1989 . Today Toyota is the world’s largest automaker, famed for reliability, the Prius hybrid, and its continuous improvement philosophy known as “The Toyota Way.”