In Japan in the late 1940s,
Toyota's sales department was part of its manufacturing company and had its office in
Nagoya. At that time, the Japanese auto industry was controlled by the
U.S. government. The majority of Toyota's sales was composed of trucks and buses. The new car business in Japan was quite limited. There was little need for consumer-oriented branding or consumer-oriented showrooms. On April 3, 1950, Toyota established a separate company for sales of its motor vehicles, including exports, called トヨタ自動車販売株式会社
Toyota Jidōsha Hanbai Kabushiki Gaisha, Toyota Auto Sales Corporation, sometimes abbreviated トヨタ自販
Toyota Jihan. In 1955, Toyota launched a new style of sedan, the
Crown. In 1957, Toyota began manufacturing a slightly smaller and more economical sedan, the
Corona. A separate sales network,
Toyopet Stores (トヨペット店
Toyopetto-ten), was created to sell the Corona and
Toyopet ToyoAce trucks. To offer a Crown-sized luxury sedan, the
Mark II was offered. To distinguish Crown showrooms from Corona showrooms, the former came to be called
Toyota Stores (トヨタ店
Toyota-ten). In the 1960s, Toyota Stores added a new luxury car, the
Century. In the 1970s the
Carina was added as a vehicle between the
Corolla and the Corona. In 1957, Toyota launched
Toyota Diesel Stores (トヨタディーゼル店
Toyota Dīzeru-ten), a dealership network for diesel
commercial vehicles that initially sold trucks, buses, and
forklifts, such as the
Dyna and
Coaster.
Hino products were likewise sold at Diesel Stores after Toyota acquired that company in 1967. Starting in 1980, Diesel Stores sold the Starlet, Corolla, Corona, Vista, Mark II, and Crown equipped with
diesel engines, as well as the first-generation
Tercel, although it was not available with a diesel engine at the time. When the Toyota Diesel store network was disbanded in 1988, commercial vehicles were divided between Toyota Stores and Toyopet Stores.
Toyota Publica Stores (トヨタパブリカ店
Toyota Paburika-ten) were established in 1961 to sell the
Publica. In 1966, the chain of outlets was renamed
Toyota Corolla Store" (トヨタカローラ店
Toyota Karōra-ten) to offer the Corolla, followed by the sports hardtop and liftback
Celica and the
Supra. The
"Toyota Auto Stores" (トヨタオート店
Toyota Ōto-ten) sales network was established in 1967 to sell a Corolla clone called the
Sprinter. In the 1970s the
Chaser and the
LiteAce added more choices.
"Toyota Vista Stores" (トヨタ・ビスタ) sales network was established in 1980, and a
Camry clone called the
Vista was developed in 1982. As of 2017, the Area 86 network was rebranded as
GR for
Gazoo Racing, sharing a similar approach to the performance division
Toyota Racing Development (TRD), providing various upgrades for the 86, Vitz, Prius, Mark X, Harrier, Noah and Voxy. In the female idol group,
AKB48, Toyota and AKS have worked together to create a subunit named
Team 8, which was marketed with the slogan: "Idols who come to meet you." They have a total of 47 members, each representing a prefecture of Japan. Starting in May 2020, models that were exclusive to particular Toyota dealership networks began to be shared with other Toyota dealership networks. Consequently, in Japan a customer can purchase any Toyota new from any of the four dealership groups, while
Lexus products remain exclusive to Lexus locations. ==List of models sold in the retail channels==