Toyota invests in French production facility
Toyota renews its investment into its site in Valenciennes, France, where it also makes the hybrid Yaris. 300m euros will enable the plant to produce 300,000 vehicles a year which will use the new global platform TNGA in the future.
Toyota Motor Europe today said it will invest a further 300 million euros in its Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) plant in French Valenciennes, bringing total cumulative investment to 1.4b euros.
In the coming months, the facility will be upgraded bit by bit with new equipment, technologies and systems. All is to prepare the introduction of the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA).
The new platform positions the battery underneath the rear passenger seat rather than under the trunk as in previous hybrid models. Both the new Prius as well as the recently presented updated Avalon incorporate it already. In the future, most Toyota models will be built using TNGA architecture.
The upgrade of the French TMMF facility will also convert 300 temporary contracts into permanent contracts to support the preparation works, and foresees the creation of another 400 permanent jobs when full capacity is reached.
The investment programme is being supported by incentives from the French State and Local Authorities (Hauts-de-France Region and Valenciennes) for training, innovation and further enhancements of the plant’s environmental performance.
Didier Leroy, Chairman of Toyota in Europe said he “appreciates French state and local authorities support” and thus assured that the Yaris is to continue bearing the ‘Made in France’ label.
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