Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye to produce future Toyota crossover based on C-HR concept

New vehicle will be the “first crossover” and “first hybrid vehicle” to be produced in Turkiye
• Plant production capacity will increase from 150,000  to 280,000 units a year
• Together with new vehicle production, cumulative investment at TMMT will reach over $ 2.3 billion
• Employee number of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye will increase gradually
• Mass production of new vehicle will be started towards the end of 2016
• Alongside Corolla and Verso models, together with new model,  90% of the production to be exported mainly to Europe
 
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye (TMMT), Toyota’s manufacturing facility in Sakarya has announced today that it will start production of a new C segment crossover of Toyota based on  C-HR concept, as of 2016. The concept was shown at the last Frankfurt Motor Show last September.
 
The new vehicle will be the first crossover and the first full hybrid vehicle to be produced in Turkiye. With this decision, TMMT will be the first plant outside Japan to build vehicle on the company’s new platform and philosophy, the Toyota New Global Architecture  (TNGA).
 
This third model for TMMT represents an investment of US$ 450 million. Including this new investment, total investment of TMMT will reach to US$ 2.3 billion. Additional employment is also estimated to increase by more than 1000 people.
The new model with Hybrid Synergy Drive will be built in the same production line with Corolla and Verso.
 
Dr.Johan van Zyl, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said: “I am very proud on behalf of TMMT, its members, and its suppliers, that this new, very important vehicle for Toyota’s global line-up, will be made here in Turkiye.  It is truly a testament to the fact that TMMT is one of the best plants in Toyota worldwide, both in terms of quality and efficiency.  TMMT’s capacity will increase from 150,000 vehicles to 280,000 vehicles per year.  This is a significant increase, reflecting the importance of TMMT in our European production strategy and the planned popularity of the new vehicle”.
 
Hiroshi Kato, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye, said: “We are very proud of announcing the production of a 3rd model in our Sakarya plant. The arrival of a TNGA designed full hybrid crossover demonstrates the very high levels of quality and efficiency achieved by TMMT. This decision is a sign of Toyota’s trust to all our employees and recognition of TMMT’s efforts to produce high quality Toyota vehicles. We will continue to work passionately with all our employees. We are also thankful for the strong collaboration of our suppliers and our business partners. We will be continuing to contribute to the Sakarya community and the Turkish economy and trade.”
 
In 1990, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkiye (TMMT) was established as Toyota’s second European plant. In 1994, TMMT started to its production operations in Sakarya with the 7th generation of Corolla. Since year 2002, TMMT exported its production to European markets, Russia, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asian countries with an average export ratio of 80%.
 
As of today, more than 1.7 million units of vehicles have been produced at TMMT, which currently employs around 3,000 persons.