1940 Toyota Car Models: What Toyota Actually Built

TLDR

In 1940, Toyota sold very few passenger cars. The lineup was the AA sedan and AB phaeton, both on sale since 1936, plus two newcomers: the BA, which sources date to 1940 (or to a 1944 prototype), and the AE, announced around 1940 but built from 1941 in tiny numbers. Trucks, not cars, were the real business.

Table of Contents

• The short answer
• What 1940 looked like at Toyota
• The 1940 Toyota models, one by one
• Which model was which
• Why car output shrank
• Where the sources disagree
• Summary

The short answer

If you’re hunting for 1940 Toyota car models, the list is short. The AA sedan and the AB phaeton did most of the work, both carried over from 1936. The BA shows up in 1940 on some timelines. The AE was introduced around then, though the cars themselves weren’t built until 1941.

No Corolla, no Crown, no Land Cruiser. Those are postwar names. The 1940 Toyota was a Chrysler Airflow-flavored sedan built in the low thousands across its whole life, for a country that was quickly running out of gasoline and steel for civilians.

What 1940 looked like at Toyota

Toyota had only just become a car company. The automobile division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works was spun off as Toyota Motor Co. in 1937, and the spelling had already shifted from Toyoda to Toyota the year before. By 1940 the company was barely three years into its independent life.

Its first cars had been a hedge. The AA was a passenger car, but the money was in trucks, and by 1940 the Japanese military was the main customer. Wartime models like the G1, the GB and the KC dominated what came off the line. Passenger cars were a sideline sold mostly to officials and fleet buyers, since civilian gasoline was rationed and private car purchases were being squeezed out.

The 1940 Toyota models, one by one

Toyota AA sedan (1936 to 1943)

The AA is the car most people mean when they say “early Toyota.” It’s a streamlined four-door sedan with a rounded tail, heavily inspired by the Chrysler Airflow, and it was Toyota’s first production passenger car. Power came from a 3.4-liter inline-six, the Type A engine, making roughly 65 horsepower.

Total production across the AA’s life is usually given as about 1,400 cars. That’s across seven years, so a 1940 AA was already an aging design with a shrinking order book.

Toyota AB phaeton (1936 to 1943)

The AB is the AA’s open-top sibling: a phaeton with a folding soft top and the same six-cylinder underneath. It was built in much smaller numbers, around 350 cars, and many went to the military and government. If you see a photograph of an officer standing beside an open Toyota from this era, it’s usually an AB.

Toyota AE (announced around 1940, built 1941 to 1943)

The AE is where the dates get slippery. It’s often described as “introduced 1940,” but production ran 1941 to 1943 and only 76 units were made. It was an updated development of the AA formula, a sedan on the same basic six-cylinder layout. For a 1940 question, treat it as announced but not yet on the road.

Toyota BA (1940, or maybe not)

The BA is the messiest entry. One set of references lists it as a 1940 to 1943 model; another treats it as a 1944 prototype. We can’t reconcile that cleanly, and neither can the sources, so treat any specific production figure you see for the BA with suspicion.

Toyota AC (not a 1940 car)

You’ll see the AC in model-code lists, and it belongs to the same family, but it’s a 1943 development. Only a handful were made. It’s worth knowing about so it doesn’t get misfiled as a 1940 model.

Which model was which

Model	Body style	Years	Engine	Units built
AA	Sedan	1936 to 1943	3.4 L inline-six	About 1,400
AB	Phaeton	1936 to 1943	3.4 L inline-six	About 350
AE	Sedan	1941 to 1943 (announced c. 1940)	Six-cylinder, AA lineage	76
BA	Disputed	1940 to 1943, or 1944 prototype	Not reliably documented	Unclear
AC	Sedan	1943 onward	Six-cylinder	A handful

The model letters are a code, not a name. The first letter is tied to the engine family and the second tracks the body or series, which is why the AA, AB and AC share so much while the BA belongs to a different branch. Toyota’s own company history walks through how these early vehicles fit into the company’s first decade.

Why car output shrank

The pattern across these years is a slow squeeze.

• 1936: The AA and AB launch. Toyota is still working out how to build cars at all.
• 1937: Toyota Motor Co. becomes a separate company.
• 1938 to 1939: The government restricts civilian fuel and steel, and prioritizes military trucks.
• 1940: The BA appears on some timelines; the AE is announced. Trucks dominate output.
• 1941 to 1943: The AE is built in tiny numbers. The AA and AB end in 1943.
• 1944 onward: Civilian car production is effectively frozen until the postwar SA small car in 1947.

By 1940, a passenger car was a low priority. Truck variants such as the G1, GB and KC took the available materials, and factory time went to vehicles the army would actually buy. For the cars that still reached buyers in the early war years, see the list of 1942 Toyota car models. Japan’s broader shift to a war economy, covered in Britannica’s overview of Toyota, explains why a company that had just launched a promising sedan ended the decade barely building cars.

Where the sources disagree

Three things trip people up:

1. The BA’s date. Some lists put it at 1940 to 1943; others call it a 1944 prototype. Both can’t be right.
2. The AE’s date. “Introduced 1940” and “built 1941 to 1943” describe the same car. The first is the announcement, the second is production.
3. Counts. Unit figures for the AA and AB are rounded in most references, and the AE’s 76 units is the only really crisp number in the set.

When two sources conflict, the one that distinguishes announcement from production usually has it right.

Summary

The honest answer to “what 1940 Toyota car models existed” is two long-running cars, the AA sedan and AB phaeton, with the BA and AE hovering around the edges of the year. Everything else Toyota built in 1940 was a truck. If you’re writing a caption, citing a fact, or just settling a bet, the AA is the safe answer.