Toyota Automobile Museum Completes Update of Permanent Exhibits
at its Main Building

Nagakute City, Japan, December 20, 2016―The Toyota Automobile Museum, a Toyota Motor Corporation cultural facility located in Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture, is currently revamping its permanent exhibits. The refurbishment, which is being implemented in stages, is scheduled to be completed in entirety by the museum's 30th anniversary in 2019. Updates to the third floor of the main building include the addition of 19 vehicles which are being displayed in a permanent exhibit for the first time. The new exhibits will be opened to the public on January 4, 2017.

In response to globalization trends, the museum reviewed its original objective at the time of its establishment in 1989 from current perspectives: presenting the history of the gasoline automobile since its invention. The series of updates is intended to allow visitors to be familiarized with automotive history and culture, and to also convey to more people about the evolution of automobile industries worldwide, including Japan, in a more accessible manner. The automotive industries in various countries have been closely intertwined with one another throughout the course of history.

The first phase of the refurbishment, which opened on the second floor of the main building in January 2016, features exhibits in eight zones that cover the period from the dawn of the automobile age at the end of 19th century till the 1950s.

The current phase of the refurbishment would see the addition of 19 vehicles that will be displayed as permanent exhibits for the first time. The third floor of the main building where it is taking place, had previously displayed only Japanese cars, but the collection has been expanded to include American and European vehicles. Since the post-war era, Japanese, American, and European cars have influenced one another, and have encouraged their mutual development in areas such as enthusiasm in creativity fields, as well as in original technologies and designs. There will be five zones where the scenes from the respective periods in automotive history would be introduced to visitors, of the trials that were overcome and where advancements were made.

As a result of the changes, the permanent exhibit in the main building allows visitors to view the advances from the birth of the automobile at the end of the 19th century to the present all at once.

Additional enhancements will be made to the permanent exhibits in the museum Annex, as well as to museum facilities. The museum remains committed to disseminating information on automotive culture as a "museum that tells stories".

Furthermore, to commemorate the updates to the main building permanent exhibits, a Backyard Storage Exhibit will be held on the second floor of the Annex Building from January 4 till June 25.

Related events include lectures, curator talks, guided tours conducted by curators, and driving demonstrations. Events for discussing cars and culture have also been planned as a new initiative. The first such event, which is themed "books", will provide an opportunity for visitors to exchange ideas and converse with each other while enjoying coffee.

Please refer to the information below for details regarding the abovementioned events, as well as the details of other related events.