Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) on May 11 disclosed production-related information as follows:
“We intend to create an optimal global supply system as part of our sustainable growth strategy. As part of our regional activities, we intend to increase local production in emerging markets such as China and India that are experiencing strong growth. This increase will enable us to respond to local demand in a timely manner and with a wide range of products. In China, we decided to construct the new Changchun plant, and in India, a new plant for a new small-sized developed vehicle is under construction. On the other hand, in developed countries with mature markets, we intend to review production models to meet changes in market structure and create flexible and efficient production structure that are resistant to exchange rate fluctuations.”
North America: “Of the mature markets, we continue to regard North America as an important region in terms of volume and profitability. We are promoting the self-reliance of our operations in this region, from development to production preparation and production. In the future, we intend to examine our production structure in North America based on trends in demand, such as for hybrid vehicles and compact vehicles.”
Europe: “We regard Europe as a market in which we can further improve our technology, and we will continue to build appealing vehicles for this region. We intend to improve our production structure while monitoring product trends.”
Japan: “In Japan, we will develop models, provide assistance to our overseas operations, and build vehicles for export. As Japan is the country most affected by changes in our business environment, we will conduct a broad review of our current Japanese production structure. With respect to mass-produced models for export, one of our fundamental principles is to produce vehicles where there is demand. In Japan, we will review our domestic production models, as well as specifically focus on the development of new technology, new concepts and the introduction of new manufacturing methods. Also, to create a flexible and efficient production structure that can respond to changes in demand, we intend to introduce mixed production lines that can produce both monocoque and body-on-frame vehicles, and introduce same kinds of platform-based production structure that clearly defines the position, role and responsibilities of each plant and production line. At the same time, we aim to achieve a more-efficient production structure while maintaining current production levels by leveling out plant-and-line-utilization rates through ‘Stop and consolidate’ efforts.”
