Toyota is a Japanese automaker known for manufacturing reliability and the Toyota Production System, a lean manufacturing philosophy that other industries have studied and copied for decades. The company sells vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands globally and was an early, cautious mover into hybrid technology with the Prius, a bet that has aged well as the industry's transition to full electric vehicles has taken longer than many expected. Toyota's scale and manufacturing discipline give it cost advantages that smaller automakers struggle to match, and its hybrid lineup lets it offer efficiency gains without requiring the charging infrastructure pure electric vehicles need. The company also has meaningful exposure to currency swings between the yen and the dollar, since a large share of vehicles built in Japan are sold overseas.