In 1904, Torao Yamaha produced the first
domestically manufactured bus, which was powered by a steam engine. In
1907, Komanosuke Uchiyama produced the Takuri, the first entirely
Japanese-made gasoline engine car. The Kunisue Automobile Works built
the Kunisue in 1910, and the following year manufactured the Tokyo in
cooperation with Tokyo Motor Vehicles Ltd. In 1911, Kwaishinsha Motorcar
Works was established and later began manufacturing a car called the
DAT. In 1920, Jitsuyo Jidosha Seizo Co., founded by William R. Gorham,
began building the Gorham and later the Lila. The company merged with
Kwaishinsha in 1926 to form the DAT Automobile Manufacturing Co. (later
to evolve into Nissan Motors). From 1924 to 1927, Hakuyosha Ironworks
Ltd. built the Otomo. Toyota, a textile manufacturer, began building
cars in 1936.[2] Most early vehicles, however, were trucks produced
under military subsidy.
Cars built in Japan before World War II tended to be based on European
or American models. The 1917 Mitsubishi Model A was based on the Fiat
A3-3 design. (This model was considered to be the first mass-produced
car in Japan, with 22 units produced.) In the 1930s, Nissan Motors' cars
were based on the Austin 7 and Graham-Paige designs, while the Toyota
AA model was based on the Chrysler Airflow. Ohta built cars in the 1930s
based on Ford models, while Chiyoda built a car resembling a 1935
Pontiac, and Sumida built a car similar to a LaSalle.
For the first decade after World War II, auto production was limited,
and until 1966 most production consisted of trucks (including 3-wheel
vehicles). Thereafter passenger cars dominated the market. Japanese car
designs also continued to imitate or be derived from European and
American designs.
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