One Million Yaris Built by Toyota in Europe

On 11 December 2006 at 6:00 pm, the millionth Yaris rolled off the assembly line at Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF).

Since the start of production in January 2001 production at TMMF has increased steadily, supporting the growing sales success of Yaris, one of Toyota Motor Europe’s core models, designed and built in Europe for Europeans.

Today, TMMF has a production capacity of 270,000 units per year and a workforce of 3,950 persons, operating in three shifts.

Tadashi Arashima, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Europe, praised this achievement by highlighting the quality of the work provided by the French factory: “TMMF is a key player for Toyota’s manufacturing operations in Europe. Since its launch, TMMF has consistently met the very demanding Toyota standards in terms of quality, efficiency and flexibility, delivering a valued product that has been Toyota’s biggest seller in Europe since 2000. This milestone shows the relevance of our strategy of building our core models in Europe.”

According to Didier Leroy, TMMF President, this performance is based on “a localised, highly integrated manufacturing system. It has been made possible thanks to a dynamic social policy that focuses on open recruitment and a systematic training process. Our team members must possess the skills to deliver the expected quality, but most importantly we want them to share our key values of team work and continuous improvement.”

Since the launch of its first generation model, Yaris has been a success story for Toyota in Europe. Named ‘Car of the Year 2000’, acknowledged as the safest car in its segment by Euro NCAP, the first generation Yaris was delivered to more than 1.4 million customers in Europe between 1999 and 2005.

The new generation Yaris already proves to be an even bigger hit, with 2006 sales expected to reach 250,000 units. The new Yaris offers an even more advanced package, including high levels of interior space and versatility, use of advanced technology, comfort, performance and safety – Yaris has obtained a 5-stars Euro NCAP rating (a record 35 points for adult protection).

Toyota Motor Manufacturing France is established in the area of Valenciennes, North of France. The factory represents a total investment of €897 million since its establishment in October 1998. TMMF is a very compact factory, with a total building area of 140,000 m².

Toyota Motor Europe (TME) aims to exceed 1.2 million unit sales in Europe in 2008. The sales growth will be supported by a manufacturing network of nine plants – located in France, United Kingdom, Portugal, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic and soon Russia – to provide a European production capacity in excess of 850,000 units.

For 2006, Toyota has set the European target of exceeding one million units in Toyota brand sales and 48,000 units in Lexus brand sales. Operating at record capacity, Toyota aims to produce around 800,000 cars, 860,000 engines and 575,000 transmissions in 2006.

Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA oversees the wholesale marketing of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, parts and accessories, and Toyota’s European manufacturing and engineering operations.

ENDS