Apr. 19, 1994
Toyota Inaugurates European Marketing and Engineering
Headquarters in Brussels
Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION announced that Toyota Motor Europe Marketing & Engineering NV/SA, the company's European base for marketing, engineering and design, today officially inaugurated a new BEF 3,200 million head office in Evere/Zaventem. The facility is the latest addition to the company's growing operations in Europe and brings Toyota's total investment in Belgium over the past eight years to more than BEF 7,000 million.
Built on a 12 hectare site adjacent to NATO, the new 18,800m2 office houses Toyota's European sales, marketing, and administration operations. The building is presently occupied by about 200 company employees, but this number is expected to grow as operations are expanded. A new BEF 600 million service and accessory development center is already under construction immediately behind the main offices. This facility is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.
Toyota Motor Europe was formally established in October 1990 as an umbrella organization to handle wholesale, marketing, service, engineering, and design support for the company's European operations. Toyota has, however, maintained a presence in Brussels since 1969 through a small corporate office engaged largely in technical and design research.
Toyota Motor Europe was formed through a reorganization of that office and a separate marketing subsidiary, Toyota Motor Marketing Services Europe, which was established in Brussels in 1989.
Toyota Motor Europe presently employs some 460 employees of 16 different nationalities at offices in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal, and the UK. In addition to the new offices in Evere/Zaventem, Toyota Motor Europe operates technical, design, and service training centers―as well as a vehicle conversions and accessories laboratory―all in Zaventem, and a major parts warehouse and distribution center located in Diest.
Toyota Motor Europe is part of a long-term strategy the company has put in place to establish integrated European operations that will enable it to handle everything from product development through production, sales and service in one of the world's leading automobile markets. Europe is Toyota's second largest overseas market, following North America. Sales in 1993 totaled approximately 393,000 vehicles, or about 2.9% of the market.
The other key to Toyota's European strategy is Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd. The UK-based engine and vehicle manufacturing company builds Toyota's popular Carina E passenger car. Last year, about 37,000 Carina E units rolled off Toyota UK's production line and that figure is expected to more than double in 1994. The eventual target is some 200,000 vehicles annually.
Toyota also builds commercial vehicles for the European market together with a local partner in Portugal, and carries out joint production of one-ton pickup trucks with Volkswagen in Germany.
Today's inauguration of the Toyota Motor Europe head office signals Toyota's long term commitment to Europe and confirms the company's intention to become more integrated in one of its main world markets.
Background Information
Toyota Motor Europe was established in October 1990 as an umbrella organization to handle wholesale, marketing, service, engineering, and design support for Toyota's growing operations in Europe. The company is comprised of eight major facilities, all but two of which are located in Belgium. It presently employs approximately 460 people.
Head Office-Located adjacent to NATO headquarters in Evere, the new head office building house s sales, marketing, and administrative operations for the company. The building was completed in October 1993.
Technical Center-Located in Zaventem, the Center assists Toyota's manufacturing operations and is active in the areas of product design, and vehicle materials and parts evaluation. It also carries out research into advanced technology and regulation trends and handles homologation for the Toyota and Lexus models sold on the European market. The Center was completed in September 1987.
EPOC Design Center-Also in Zaventem, EPOC is one of four design studios Toyota operates world-wide, including two others in Japan and one in the U.S. In addition to studying European design trends and evolving customer preferences, EPOC is responsible for creating exterior, interior and color design proposals, and for developing overall color strategies for future Toyota products. EPOC was completed in September 1989.
Training Center-Located adjacent to the design and technical centers, the Training Center provides essential training to service instructors and engineers from Toyota's European distributors. The Center was completed in October 1990.
CA Lab-Located temporarily in Zaventem, the CA Lab is responsible for planning and developing vehicle conversions and accessories for the European market. A new facility is under construction behind the head office building in Evere. The Lab was opened in March 1991.
Derby & Grimsby Distribution Centers-The only major non-Belgian centers―the two facilities situated on-site at Toyota's UK automobile factory in Derbyshire and at the Port of Grimsby on the east coast of England―are responsible for bringing Toyota's UK-built Carina E passenger cars to market. The two facilities were completed in December 1992.
Toyota Parts Center Europe-Located in Diest, the Parts Center is responsible for ordering and distribution of all Toyota and Lexus replacement parts for distributors. The Center began operations in January 1993.
