Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) has celebrated the 6 May, 2013 start of production of variants of the Yaris for export to the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The model produced has a petrol engine and annual export volume will be around 25,000 units in a full year. TMMF spent EUR10m to build the car to North American specification.
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Toyota started Yaris shipments to North America from Japan with the first generation marketed as the Echo. Subsequent generations were badged Yaris and the current third generation was shipped initially from Japan.
The latest deal means TMMF, in the small northern French town of Onnaing, near Valenciennes, now exports to over 40 countries, including the UK, Europe, South Africa and Egypt.
“Building on more than 10 years of experience in high quality car production, this Yaris is another endorsement of TMMF’s excellence in manufacturing,” said Makoto Sano, president of the French unit.
He added: “We are proud to be recognised as a true player in the Toyota organisation and welcome this new business opportunity to further strengthen TMMF’s position as an important exporter in France.”
Toyota Motor Europe president and CEO Didier Leroy said: “The additional export market is yet another evidence of the success enjoyed by Toyota’s manufacturing operations in France.”
He added: “There are many reasons to preserve production of compact cars in France but all partners need to work together to maintain TMMF’s competitive advantage. In Valenciennes, highly skilled and quality-minded employees that can handle complex production processes, and the proximity of good logistics and supplier networks are also major key success factors.”
“With Quebec accounting for 65% of Yaris’ Canadian sales, a warm welcome will be assured for this ‘made in france’ vehicle,” said Seiji Ichii, president and CEO of Toyota Canada.
The Yaris was the first vehicle produced in France to be certified with the new ‘French Origin Guaranteed (‘Origine France Garantie’) label. This certificate was created in order to help customers identify products that have more than 50% of their value manufactured in France.
The third generation Yaris was launched in Europe in summer 2011, followed by the hybrid in June 2012. In an overall declining B-segment, the Yaris model range grew 27% year on year in 2012 due mainly to strong sales of the hybrid.
With sales of 182,841 vehicles, the Yaris accounted for nearly 22% of Toyota’s total European sales in 2012.
