戦時期日本における「大衆車」工業の形成と展開 : トヨタ自動車工業を中心に

概要

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The object of this article is to delineate the rise and development of 'Popular Vehicle' manufacturing in wartime Japan. The study concentrates on the relationship between military plans for popular truck production and the response of Toyota Motor Company to those plans. Toyota was given a chance to produce popular vehicles on a larger scale by Automobile Manufacturing Law in 1936, which limited the production of Ford and General Motors in Japan. Toyota initially aimed to produce low-price vehicles mainly by cutting costs. However, in the wartime economy starting from 1938, military planning forced Toyota to enlarge production capability rather than cut costs and improve quality, which having resulted in over-investment and poor quality of Toyota trucks. To solve the problem, Toyota planned to strengthen work control and increase its self-manufacturing in parts and materials. Nevertheless, the start of the Pacific War in late 1941, allocation of materials to automotive industry was getting worse, and Toyota's plan failed. Although Toyota's mass production method made only limited progress in wartime, mainly due to insufficient supplies of materials and special-purposed machine tools, the method did have some effect in enhancing the efficiency of the military airplane industry.
政治経済学・経済史学会の論文
2001-01-20