Toyota Turkey to be European base for plug-in hybrid vehicles and battery manufacturing
January 30, 2023
Toyota has confirmed that its Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) division, based in Sakarya, Turkey, will produce the second generation of its Toyota C-HR, marking Toyota’s first European plant to start producing plug-in hybrid vehicles, and the first to be equipped with a battery production line.
“We are proud to announce that TMMT will produce the second-generation Toyota C-HR including the first plug-in hybrid vehicle in Europe,” stated Marvin Cooke, Toyota Motor Europe, Executive VP – Manufacturing. “The outstanding performance and dedication which our TMMT employees deliver will make this new model a great success, just like its predecessor. It also marks another important milestone with the start of our first battery assembly line in Europe, which is an important step in our European electrification plan.”
Alongside the vehicle production line, TMMT will build a new plug-in battery assembly line with a capacity of 75,000 units per year within its facility. Plug-in hybrid battery assembly is expected to start in December 2023, creating around sixty skilled jobs.
The creation of a battery assembly line in TMMT is said to be a strategic milestone for Toyota’s electrification transformation and will also support other Toyota Europe plants in the future with manpower and experience. Total investment for this project will be around €317 million, bringing the overall cumulative investment in TMMT to around €2.3 billion. In scope of the new model investment, TMMT aims to improve and enhance its production line, whilst laying down the framework to meet the future requirements of production diversity and flexibility.
Toyota hopes to achieve full carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040, and is targeting carbon neutrality in all its manufacturing facilities by 2030. TMMT is moving towards this goal by introducing technologies which minimise energy consumption whilst switching to renewable energy within the Sakarya plant. These measures include the introduction of new paint shop technologies which minimise CO2 emissions and the use of solar energy which aims to make the plant self-sufficient in its energy use.
“In this project, which reveals TMMT’s high-quality vehicle production experience and advanced engineering ability, we will implement our responsibilities with great dedication,” Cooke added. “This represents an exciting step forward for TMMT’s future as it continues to produce popular attractive and high quality models. This project once again confirms that our production facility in Sakarya is a globally important place for Toyota. I am proud to share this important milestone on behalf of our employees and valuable suppliers. As one team, we will continue to contribute to Sakarya and Turkish economy by working together with all our energy.”
