Toyota Donates $100,000 to
Housing Reconstruction Project in U.S.
through Toyota Production System Support Center

New Orleans, United States, March 2, 2012―Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), through the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), a non-profit organization based in the U.S., today donated 100,000 U.S. dollars to the St. Bernard Project, a project that supports the reconstruction of houses in the southeast United States that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The donation was made at a ceremony here attended by representatives from the St. Bernard Project and the local government. At the ceremony, Shigeki Terashi, president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), TMC's R&D and manufacturing coordination subsidiary in the U.S., said: "At Toyota, we judge our success not just on the vehicles we make, but, also on the positive impact we are able to have in local communities across North America. With so many nonprofits being asked to do more with less, the need to operate with greater efficiency has become even more vital."

TSSC began participating in the St. Bernard Project last year by reviewing the home rebuilding process and increasing efficiency based on the Toyota Production System, thereby reducing the building time per house from 12 to 18 weeks down to as little as six weeks.

In addition to providing vehicles that meet consumer needs, Toyota is committed―as part of its aim to be a good corporate citizen―to proactively carrying out social contribution activities in the U.S.