- David Hort
Toyota investment secures 1,500 UK jobs
Toyota will build will build its next-generation C-segment hatchbacks in the UK, creating 1,500 new jobs over the next two years.
The Japanese manufacturer’s plant in Derbyshire will build diesel, hybrid and petrol variants of its new hatchbacks – and the Burnaston plant will receive £100m worth of investment to cover the costs.
The new cars will replace the current Auris family, which includes hatchbacks and hybrid variants, but the name of the new car has yet to be confirmed.
The announcement comes as a welcome boost not just for Toyota UK but the economy as a whole, given the company’s current export status that sees 85 per cent of the engines and vehicles produced at its plant leave the UK for foreign markets.
Further down the line, Toyota will invest another £85m in the UK supply chain, taking its overall investment in the UK industry to £2.1bn since 1989.
Prime Minister, David Cameron, welcomed the announcement. He said: “This major announcement from Toyota is fantastic news and a massive vote of confidence for UK manufacturing. Toyota’s commitment to the UK shows the growing strength of the UK car industry - it is our great British success story."
As well as increasing its investment in the UK, Toyota is also committed to reducing the environmental impact of its two plants, the second of which is in Deeside. According to the manufacturer, its plants create zero waste for landfill or incineration and its Derbyshire facility has the largest industrial solar panel farm in use in the UK.
The solar panels create enough electricity to build around 7,000 cars a year.
UK open for business to auto industry
Toyota isn’t the first Japanese manufacturer to commit a large proportion of its production to the UK.
Earlier this year, Nissan confirmed that it will build the next generation Qashqai at its Sunderland plant, securing £200m worth of investment for the UK.
Meanwhile, Vauxhall has still to confirm where it will build the petrol-electric Ampera, with the North West’s Ellesmere Port plant in the running, given the similarities between the extended range electric vehicle and the Astra currently built at the Cheshire plant.
Jaguar Land Rover has also recently pledged £355m to the development of a new engine production plant in Staffordshire, near Wolverhampton.
The new facility will create 750 jobs and focus on building low emission, four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.
Also at the premium end of the market, BMW will pump £500m into the UK over the next three years after it confirmed that production of its successful Mini brand will continue in the UK in Oxford, Swindon and Birmingham.
The move has secured the UK some 5,000 jobs and given BMW’s export credentials – around £2.4bn worth of BMW-owned goods were exported in 2010 – it’s an important move for the UK economy.
Bentley also remains in the UK – alongside the likes of Rolls-Royce, Lotus and Aston Martin – having received a government business grant worth £1.68m.
The move has secured additional jobs at the manufacturer’s plant in Crewe and ensures its future in the UK over the coming months.