While the US government has rules regarding imports of foreign vehicles needing to be on the market for at least 25 years before coming across any borders, vehicles built in America can be sold here, which led to the influx of foreign companies years ago. For several decades, American auto workers fought to keep the imports out, but times have changed a great deal. Today more cars that fall under brands we associate with foreign companies are built right here in the US. This is not only a huge plus for those companies, but for us as a population.

One of the most reported events in automotive history was when Honda built their plant in Ohio, but today, the largest automaker in the world, Toyota, has a huge foothold in the US and has facilities that produce more of the vehicles we drive than ever before. The movement toward building vehicles closer to where they are sold began many years ago and even though some models will be the same in different countries, with the only real difference being the name of the vehicle, we see more models being produced in plats that are built closer to their respective markets.

In the US, Toyota has a huge impact on our economy. This single car company employs 470,100 people in the US and a full seventy percent of the vehicles that are sold in the US are actually built here and is responsible for the best-selling car worldwide, the Corolla. When you look at a brand and a model and the thought of it being a foreign made vehicle comes to your mind, you might be wrong. This impressive number of employees and impact on our economy results in $32.3 billion in payroll giving these workers $23.6 billion in net disposable income, making this automaker one of the most important companies in the US economy.

Not only does Toyota directly impact our economy with this large number of employees and the impressive number of vehicles we drive being built here, but for every one Toyota job, there are 6.1 other jobs created at suppliers or support companies that help create the services that are needed for these vehicles. this impact then stems into the millions of jobs that are created just by having the Toyota brand in the US for us to enjoy. There are very few other companies in the US that make such an impact upon the US economy.

When you consider the fact that not even forty years ago our own Big Three were trying to keep out foreign companies and now this single automotive giant is employing this impressive number of American workers while creating even more jobs in the US, it’s an amazing journey that has taken place. Just remember, when you buy a Toyota you’re most likely purchasing a vehicle that was built by Americans and is a vehicle that does aid our own economy even though it carries the badging of this Japanese based company that is a huge part of our world.