Toyota
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 2 November 2026 · 16 sources
Japanese carmaker selling hybrid cars and SUVs, the HiLux ute and LandCruiser.
Toyota's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2024, and it scored 10/100 in the 2026 Lead the Charge leaderboard.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and a failing or very low rating (Lead the Charge 10/100 in 2026). Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2024) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and Türkiye, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Not met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that listMakes its products in its own factories
- Not met: Traces its battery metals to the mine and its aluminium to smelters outside Xinjiang
Red flags 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wageShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 3 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: Lead the Charge 10/100 (2026)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
From press and retailer reports. Toyota makes its products in its own factories, but we haven't recorded its countries from it yet. The rest is shown as where cars and bikes are usually made.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 51% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| Thailand | 21% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Türkiye | Not given | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Very high |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | 9% | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| South KoreaUsual for the industry | 4% | No guarantee of rights | Close to a living wage | Low |
| GermanyUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| SpainUsual for the industry | 1% | Strong protections | Close to a living wage | Low |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | 1% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| MexicoUsual for the industry | 1% | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: battery metals, aluminium and steel link carmakers to state-imposed forced labour in Xinjiang, child and forced labour in DR Congo's cobalt mines and deadly nickel smelters in Indonesia; aluminium auto parts and lithium-ion batteries from China are on the US forced labour list. Source
- Owns or runs its own production
- Modern slavery statement
- Publishes its mineral smelter list and uses independently audited smelters (RMAP) for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold
- It belongs to a scheme such as IRMA or the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, publishes some refiners or traces some of its metals, but doesn't show both its battery metals traced to the mine and its aluminium traced to smelters outside Xinjiang. Source
Research notes Most Toyotas sold in Australia are built in Japan (RAV4, Corolla, LandCruiser), with the HiLux and Fortuner from Thailand and the C-HR from Türkiye, all in Toyota's own plants; shares are rough estimates from model sales (HiLux was 53,499 of about 240,000 Toyota sales in 2024). Toyota names 208 RMAP-conformant 3TG smelters in its US conflict minerals report, but isn't an IRMA member, discloses no tracing of battery cobalt, nickel or lithium or of its aluminium, and checks suppliers mainly with self-assessment questionnaires (980 major tier 1 suppliers in 2024). Its modern slavery statement found technical intern trainees at about 48% of surveyed group and key suppliers in Japan but reports no recruitment fees repaid.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lead the Charge auto supply chain leaderboard | Problem found | Toyota scored 10% on Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing in the Lead the Charge 2026 auto supply chain leaderboard (9% overall), 16th of 18 carmakers; it doesn't require suppliers to respect human rights or do minerals due diligence and has no supply chain grievance mechanism. View |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Toyota Motor Corporation's group modern slavery statement (April 2023 to March 2025) covers Toyota Motor Corporation Australia, which surveyed suppliers and focused on 36 high-concern suppliers in FY2025. View |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Toyota's UK business publishes a signed modern slavery statement for 2025. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | The US Department of Labor's 2024 list names aluminium from China and the auto parts made with it as produced with forced labour; Japan and Thailand, where Toyota's Australian cars are built, have no vehicle entries. View |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Neither Toyota nor Xincheng Auto Parts, the supplier named in a 2025 investigation, is on the UFLPA Entity List (October 2026). View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | Lists Toyota in Sheffield Hallam (2022) and Bureau of Investigative Journalism (2025) investigations of Uyghur forced labour in car supply chains, with no response from Toyota, and a 2025 Repórter Brasil report linking slave labour at a charcoal site to pig iron bought by Toyota's US operations. View |
Confirmed issues 4
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Link through a supplierHuman Rights Watch found Toyota among carmakers failing to minimise the risk of Uyghur forced labour in the aluminium in their cars, as Xinjiang smelters take part in state labour transfers and their metal can't be traced once alloyed (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Source · search the archive | Not knownToyota did not answer Human Rights Watch's questions about its aluminium supply chain or oversight of its Chinese joint ventures. |
| 2023 | Link through a supplierThe Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that Xincheng Auto Parts, a Wuhan parts maker that has supplied Toyota, recruited Uyghur workers through Xinjiang government labour transfers from late 2022, with a Uyghur worker filmed there in December 2023 (TBIJ via Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025). Source · archived copy | Not knownToyota did not respond to several requests for comment from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. |
| 2022 | Link through a supplierSheffield Hallam University and NomoGaia's Driving Force report named Toyota among carmakers with several supply chain exposures to steel, aluminium and copper made with Uyghur forced labour (Sheffield Hallam University, 2022). Source · archived copy | Not knownToyota did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's request for a response. |
| 2021 | Link through a supplierBrazil's Ministry of Labour freed 11 workers from slave-like conditions at a charcoal site in Maranhão in 2021 that supplied steelmaker Viena Siderúrgica, which shipped at least 8,000 tonnes of pig iron to Toyota's US operations in 2022 (Repórter Brasil, 2025). Source · archived copy | Not knownToyota USA asked for more time but did not answer Repórter Brasil's questions; Toyota's Brazil office said it has no influence over its North American suppliers. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- A 2024 investigation by journalist Peter Bengtsen found migrant workers at Taiwanese parts maker Lioho Machine Works, which supplies parts for Toyota cars including to Toyota's Taiwan joint venture Kuozui Motors, paid recruitment fees of up to about 730,000 yen and remained in debt; Toyota said it found no unreasonable fees at Kuozui (Toyo Keizai, 2024). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 16
Show all 16 sources
- Toyota scorecard 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · 9% overall, 10% human rights, 16th of 18; no supplier human rights requirement or grievance mechanism; no evidence of battery mineral due diligence
- Scorecards 2026 (Lead the Charge) · search the archive · Full 2026 table of overall and Human Rights & Responsible Sourcing scores
- China: Carmakers Implicated in Uyghur Forced Labor (Human Rights Watch, 2024) · search the archive · Toyota among carmakers failing to minimise Xinjiang aluminium risk; did not respond
- China: More than 30 automobile brands have products with Xinjiang forced labour risks (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025) · archived copy · TBIJ investigation naming Toyota; Toyota did not respond
- Report: Driving Force: automotive supply chains and forced labor in the Uyghur Region (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre) · archived copy · Sheffield Hallam and NomoGaia (Dec 2022) named Toyota with several exposures; Toyota did not respond
- Beaten and tied up in Brazil: how a charcoal worker's photo reaches Toyota (Repórter Brasil, 2025) · archived copy · 11 workers freed in 2021; Viena Siderúrgica shipped 8,000 tonnes of pig iron to Toyota's US operations in 2022; Toyota USA did not answer
- IRMA members and partners · search the archive · Toyota is not among IRMA's purchasing members
- Toyota Motor Corporation Conflict Minerals Report for 2024 (SEC Form SD, Exhibit 1.01) · search the archive · Lists RMAP-conformant 3TG smelters and refiners reported by suppliers; RMI member; information collected on some, not all, smelters
- List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (US Department of Labor, 2024) · search the archive · Aluminium from China (forced labour) and auto parts made with it
- Where Australia's top 10 cars are made (CarExpert, March 2025) · search the archive · RAV4 (58,718 in 2024) and Corolla built in Aichi, Japan; HiLux (53,499) built at Samrong, Thailand
- The most popular new cars in Australia by country of origin (Chasing Cars, August 2025) · search the archive · Toyota RAV4 from Japan, HiLux from Thailand and C-HR from Türkiye
- Did coerced labour build your car? (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 2025) · search the archive · Xincheng Auto Parts, which has supplied Toyota, recruited through Xinjiang labour transfers from late 2022
- Allegations of forced labor at Japanese auto parts supplier in Taiwan (Toyo Keizai, 2024) · search the archive · Recruitment fees and debt among migrant workers at Lioho Machine Works, which supplies Toyota parts; Toyota's response
- Toyota statement on the Modern Slavery Acts · search the archive · Covers April 2023 to March 2025 and names Toyota Motor Corporation Australia; 980 tier 1 suppliers sent self-assessments; technical intern trainees at 97 of 202 surveyed companies; no repaid fees reported; mapping to raw material sources only being considered
- Human rights (Toyota Motor Corporation) · search the archive · Supplier Sustainability Guidelines; modern slavery statement under UK and Australian laws
Published by Toyota or its owner
- Toyota (GB) Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · UK modern slavery statement for 2025
Company details
- Owned by
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Employees
- About 380,000
- Last researched
- 2 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Toyota ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/toyota, last researched 2 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Toyota.