Toyota Motor plans to buy more parts in the Chugoku region and Kyushu to enhance production efficiency in Kyushu, its second largest manufacturing base after central Japan, company officials said.
Toyota currently relies on Kyushu and the Chugoku region for around 55% of its parts procurements but plans to raise the level to 70%, the officials told Kyodo News.
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The new procurement strategy includes allowing Toyota Motor Kyushu – a major Lexus builder – to procure parts at its own discretion in stages.
Toyota Kyushu, based in Miyawaka, Fukuoka Prefecture, currently acts as a bridge between local suppliers and Toyota Motor because it uses parts chosen by its parent.
Given Kyushu’s proximity to South Korea and the yen’s strength against the won, Toyota is also considering direct purchases of inexpensive parts from South Korean suppliers for production in Kyushu in line with Toyota president Akio Toyoda’s goal of increasing procurement from Asian suppliers.
Nissan Motor is ahead of other Japanese automakers in the sourcing of parts from South Korean suppliers.
Iwao Nihashi, president of Toyota Kyushu, said the subsidiary will prioritize quality in the parts it procures as the manufacturing base of Lexus luxury models.
