Boeing vs Toyota: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Boeing and Toyota side by side

1. 1916Boeing

   Pacific Aero Products Company Incorporated

   William Boeing incorporates Pacific Aero Products Co. on July 15, 1916 in Seattle, a month after the B&W seaplane he built with George Conrad Westervelt first flew from Lake Union on June 15.

2. 1917Boeing

   Renamed The Boeing Airplane Company; First Military Contract

   The company is renamed The Boeing Airplane Company in April 1917 following co-founder George Westervelt's return to active Navy duty, and secures its first meaningful military contract when the U.S. Navy orders the improved Model C floatplane.

3. 1927Boeing

   Boeing Air Transport Wins San Francisco-Chicago Airmail Route

   Boeing forms Boeing Air Transport and wins the U.S. Post Office airmail contract for the San Francisco to Chicago route, the most commercially valuable domestic airmail route, initiating Boeing's involvement in commercial aviation beyond manufacturing.

4. 1933Boeing

   Boeing 247 Introduced as the First Modern Airliner

   Boeing introduces the Model 247, widely recognized as the world's first modern commercial airliner, featuring all-metal construction, retractable landing gear, a cantilevered wing, and variable-pitch propellers.

5. 1937Toyota

   Toyota Motor Corporation incorporated

   Toyota Motor Corporation was incorporated after Kiichiro Toyoda expanded the Toyoda family business from automatic looms into automobile manufacturing.

6. 1954Boeing

   Dash 80 Jet Prototype First Flies

   The 367-80, or Dash 80, first flies on July 15, 1954, the company's 38th anniversary. Funded with about $16 million of Boeing's own money, it leads to the KC-135 tanker for the Air Force and the 707 airliner, which enters service with Pan Am in 1958.

7. 1955Toyota

   Toyopet Crown launched

   The Toyopet Crown gave Toyota a postwar passenger-car platform and later became its first passenger car exported to the United States.

8. 1966Toyota

   Corolla launched

   Toyota launched the Corolla, a compact car that became central to its mass-market export strategy.

9. 1969Boeing

   Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet Makes First Flight

   The 747, the first wide-body jetliner, first flies on February 9, 1969 and enters service with Pan Am in January 1970.

10. 1989Toyota

    Lexus launches

    Toyota launched Lexus with the LS 400, moving into premium vehicles with a quality-led strategy.

11. 1994Boeing

    Boeing 777 First Flight

    The Boeing 777, the world's largest twin-engine commercial aircraft and the first airliner designed entirely using computer-aided design tools without physical mock-ups, makes its inaugural flight on June 12, 1994.

12. 1997Boeing

    Boeing Merges with McDonnell Douglas

    Boeing completes its $13.3 billion acquisition of McDonnell Douglas, creating a single dominant American aerospace and defense company and ending more than two decades of three-way commercial aircraft competition.

13. 1997Toyota

    Prius launches in Japan

    Toyota launched the Prius, turning hybrid technology into a mass-produced passenger vehicle.

14. 2009Boeing

    Boeing 787 Dreamliner First Flight

    The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first commercial aircraft built primarily from carbon-fiber composite materials, makes its first flight on December 15, 2009 more than two years behind its original 2007 schedule following extensive supply chain difficulties with…

15. 2016Toyota

    Acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.

    Toyota Motor acquired Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd..

16. 2019Boeing

    737 MAX Grounded Worldwide Following Two Fatal Crashes

    After the Lion Air Flight 610 crash in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash in March 2019, which killed 346 people, regulators ground the 737 MAX worldwide.

17. 2021Toyota

    Acquired Lyft Level 5

    Toyota Motor acquired Lyft Level 5 for $550 million.

18. 2021Toyota

    Acquired CARMERA

    Toyota Motor acquired CARMERA.

19. 2022Boeing

    Boeing Relocates Corporate Headquarters to Arlington, Virginia

    Boeing formally moves its corporate headquarters from Chicago, Illinois, to Arlington, Virginia, placing its senior executive team adjacent to the Pentagon and within close proximity to Congress and the regulatory agencies that govern both its defense and comm…

20. 2024Boeing

    Door-Plug Blowout, Machinists Strike, and Leadership Transition

    Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experiences a door-plug blowout at 16,000 feet on January 5, triggering a FAA production cap on 737 MAX and a congressional investigation into Boeing's quality management.

21. 2025Boeing

    F-47 Win, Strike in St. Louis, Spirit Buyback and a Return to Profit

    The Air Force selects Boeing's F-47 as its sixth-generation fighter in March. Boeing sells Jeppesen and other digital units to Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion, the FAA raises the 737 cap to 42 a month in October, a 102-day strike at St.

22. 2026Boeing

    737-7 Certified, F/A-XX Win and a 737-10 Setback

    Backlog reaches a record $715 billion at June 30. The FAA certifies the 737-7 on August 3, then on September 28 holds 737-10 certification over a flight-management software issue. On September 29 the Navy selects Boeing to build the F/A-XX fighter.

23. 2026Toyota

    Kenta Kon becomes president and CEO

    Kenta Kon became president and CEO on April 1, 2026, while Koji Sato moved to vice chairman and chief industry officer.

24. 2026Toyota

    FY2026 sales revenues reach ~$340B (JPY 50.685T)

    Toyota reported FY2026 sales revenues of ~$340 billion (JPY 50,684.952 billion) and net income attributable to Toyota Motor Corporation of ~$25.8 billion (JPY 3,848.098 billion).

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