Toyota was founded by Kiichiro Toyota and has grown from a small family-based business to become one of the largest and most respected companies in the world. The first Toyota car, the Toyota AA, was produced in 1936 and ever since that day the Japanese manufacturer has provided innovative and high-quality vehicles throughout the world. The earliest Toyota invention dates back to the 1920s when Sakichi Toyoda created the Toyoda Model G Automatic Loom. After a public competition, the company name was changed to Toyota because it required eight brush strokes in Japanese which is a lucky number. The Toyota Motor Company was officially formed in August 1937. It is now the twelfth largest company in the world based on revenue and employs more than 330,000 people globally. In 2012, Toyota produced its 200-millionth vehicle and in the same year it became the first automobile manufacturer to produce more than ten million vehicles in a year.