Toyota Ranks No. 9 in 2021 Fortune Global 500 List
Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on the automotive industry, Toyota managed to climb up one spot in the Fortune Global 500 list, up to ninth — just ahead of 10th-placed Volkswagen, making Toyota the top-ranked automaker.
The Fortune 500 is an annual ranking of the largest 500 corporations in the world based on total revenue. In 2020, these companies combined generated $31.7 trillion in revenue, $1.6 trillion in profit, and employed nearly 70 million people.
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The Toyota Motor Corporation has been featured in the Fortune Global 500 list every year since its inception 27 years ago, and since 1999, it has never failed to place below the top 10, ranking as high as fifth on several occasions. In 2020, the top five were made up of Walmart, State Grid, Amazon, China National Petroleum, and Sinopec Group, in that order.
Toyota earned $256.7 billion in the last fiscal year, with $21.2 billion turned into profit, which was good enough for 17th in the rankings. Toyota was also 66th in assets ($563 billion) and 30th based on employees (366,283).
It’s difficult to wrap one’s head around such numbers. The automaker famously invests about $1 million per hour on R&D, which seems like a lot until you do the math and realize that adds up to only about one dollar for every 30 the company generates in revenue.
“Toyota is honored to be included on this year’s Global 500 List,” said Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “This acknowledgement is a reflection of our global team and the great work that they do each and every day to provide mobility for all. Despite the many challenges we faced over the past year, we are grateful for the continued support from our customers, dealers and suppliers, and excited about ushering in a new era of clean mobility.”
The automaker recently announced it would invest $13.5 billion in solid-state battery technology and EV manufacturing in North America, including a new automotive plant that will support 1,750 jobs.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.