Japan Car Production By Brand : 1960-69

Could anyone back in the 1960's have seen the success the car industry in Japan would achieve? I know I didn't think their cars were as good as the competition and maybe back in the early 60's that was the case. However, by the end of that decade, things had moved on at some pace and they just kept improving. So let's break it down and see the phenomenal growth of that time.
Total: Production for cars increased nearly 16 fold in the decade. Put another way, the 1960 figure was only 6% of the 1969 one. That was staggering expansion. Having the factory capacity to deliver that increase is amazing too.

Toyota: From 1960 it was the second biggest car maker in Japan but took the lead in 1963. It has remained there since. The successful Corolla was released at the end of 1966.

Nissan: It started the decade at the top but was soon overtaken. The Datsun Sunny (exported as the 1000 model) came out also in 1966. That year it acquired the Prince Motor Company, gaining models such as the Gloria and Skyline.

The N360 was the predecessor of the Civic

Honda: It started out making mainly sports cars but the tiny N360 model introduced in 1967 got production numbers up. It was soon the third largest car maker in Japan.

Mazda: In the early 1960's, they made the R360 kei car, a small Carol and the larger 800/1000 (Familia) model that all seemed reasonably popular. In 1966 the attractive Luce 1500 designed by Giugiaro of Italy was released.

The rest: None of the others grew like the top four and soon a gap had become apparent between them.

Year	Toyota	Nissan	Honda	Mazda	Mitsubis	Subaru
1960	42,118	55,049	-	23,417	5,203	13,037
1961	73,830	76,667	-	31,758	7,552	22,319
1962	74,515	89,003	-	41,882	8,396	12,442
1963	128,843	118,558	136	53,980	15,882	19,030
1964	181,738	168,674	5,210	60,957	29,497	26,116
1965	236,151	169,815	8,779	81,289	45,905	37,304
1966	316,189	253,046	3,209	92,143	75,643	59,410
1967	476,807	352,045	87,169	129,051	105,952	94,398
1968	659,189	571,614	186,560	178,115	130,253	103,746
1969	964,088	697,691	232,704	201,133	127,812	124,877

Year	Suzuki	Daihatsu	Isuzu	Hino	Prince	Total
1960	-	-	7,933	7,409	10,928	167,054
1961	-	-	10,875	12,469	14,038	251,469
1962	2,565	-	15,357	11,730	12,944	270,796
1963	2,360	516	22,495	16,750	29,280	409,793
1964	1,819	5,548	34,436	21,915	44,490	582,364
1965	1,828	11,333	30,515	26,239	47,018	698,141
1966	3,394	21,750	32,599	20,273	Nissan	879,622
1967	26,454	60,473	38,716	4,692	-	1,377,724
1968	96,471	89,296	39,776	801	-	2,057,789
1969	121,871	104,840	36,429	74	-	2,613,488

Data source: JAMA.

Summary: It's amazing to westerners how the brands have survived, but it is no accident. According to Wiki, Japan has a system named keiretsu* which has kept these brands running through difficult times and created stability in the local car industry. The Japanese government has also at times got one car maker to help another if it is deemed necessary. It is one of the few places where the government and industry work together in a successful way.

* Where "member companies own small portions of the shares in each other's companies, centered on a core bank; this system helps insulate each company from stock market fluctuations and takeover attempts, thus enabling long-term planning in innovative projects. It is a key element of the automotive industry in Japan". (source here).