“We greatly appreciate the support and encouragement of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Ann Arbor SPARK, York Township and elected officials across the state as we continue to expand our presence in Michigan,” said Osamu Nagata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Inc. “The Toyota Technical Center has been the driving force behind our engineering and R&D activities in North America for more than 35 years, so I am pleased and proud that we will continue to grow these operations. We look forward to strengthening our ties with Michigan even further and making continued investments that will help drive the success of both Toyota, our supplier partners and the state for many years to come.”
“Toyota’s expansion sends a message around the world that Michigan’s singular leadership in auto manufacturing and research and development means real opportunities for global companies,” said Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. “Toyota’s decision demonstrates how Michigan’s highly competitive business climate and premier manufacturing workforce can help automakers and other industries grow.”
The expansion of the TTC campus is a key element of Toyota’s ongoing consolidation of its North American operations, which includes the establishment of a new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. As part of this initiative, Toyota will move about 250 direct procurement positions from its manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, KY, to a new facility to be built at the TTC campus in York Township. Other recent efforts to enhance North American engineering capabilities include the April 2014 appointment of Toyota’s fifth American Chief Engineer in North America, Monte Kaehr.
“Growing our footprint in the design and engineering center of the U.S. automotive industry will enhance our ability to engage, support and partner with our key suppliers, the majority of which are located in southeast Michigan,” Mr. Nagata said. “With this move, we are bringing our direct procurement activities closer to the strongest automotive supply base in the world. As we go from concept to mass production of our vehicles, having our direct procurement and engineering functions in close proximity will help us continue creating products that exceed our customers’ expectations, both now and in the future.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.