From Masudaya of Japan:
Masudaya is Japan’s oldest operating toy company, tracing its history back to 1724. Their MT (T over M) logo (for Masudaya Toy) has been used since the 1920s. In the 1930s it established a Modern Toy laboratory and later added Modern Toy to its logo causing many to think that MT stood for Modern Toys. It is hard to imagine a toy company that has passed its 300th year in business.

Masudaya Toys “Radicon Radio Control” series of toys from the middle 50s included this bus which was said to be the world’s first Japanese-made toy equipped with a remote control function. From eBay company “Yuzuhina Shop” in Japan, I received this: “According to my research…it was the world’s first radio-controlled toy, launched in November 1955.”

The bus is 359 mm (14.125 inches) long and 100.58 mm (3.96inches) wide – approximately 1:24 scale.

Although it still amazes me that RC airplanes exisisted in the 1930s, and no cars are documented  before the 1950s, I am inclined to let this 1955 Masudaya Bus stand as the earliest documented, commercially produced, RC vehicle (for now).

 UPDATE! – Documentation of the 1955 production date directly from Masudaya.

2025-08-20

ChatGPT found the Masudaya website:

https://www.masudaya.com/radicon/

And translated this text:

1955年、世界で最初に無線操縦玩具を開発して「ラジコンバス」を発売する。 ゲルマニュームラジオから、トランジスタラジオに入った時代、 増田屋コーポレーション（当時社名・増田屋齋藤貿易）は、安いコストで無線で動かせる玩具を考え、 日露戦争で通信に使われたコヒラーを応用して、世界で最初の無線操縦玩具開発し、 ラジコンというネーミングで「ラジコンバス」を4,500円で発売する。
DWP – Translated to English:

ChatGPT said:

Here’s a clear English translation of your text:

In 1955, the world’s first radio-controlled toy was developed and released as the “Radio Control Bus.”
At a time when consumer electronics were shifting from germanium radios to transistor radios, Masudaya Corporation (then known as Masudaya Saito Trading) came up with the idea of an inexpensive toy that could be operated by wireless control.
By adapting the coherer, which had been used for communications during the Russo-Japanese War, they succeeded in developing the world’s first radio-controlled toy.
Branded with the new term “Radio Control,” the “Radio Control Bus” was put on sale for 4,500 yen.

Per Copilot:

¥4,500 in 1955 ≈ $12.50 in 1955 USD ≈ $145 in 2025 USD (inflation-adjusted)