Toyota Opens New Engine Plant in Porto Feliz, São Paulo

• New Facility represents an investment of 18 billion JPY (US$ 170 million) and employs approximately 320 people.
• Carmaker's first engine manufacturing facility in Latin America starts a new chapter for regional operations with a capacity of 108,000 engines per year
• Similar to Toyota's new Karawang, Indonesia engine plant, technological advancements reduced initial investment costs by 40 percent compared to 2008

São Paulo―May 10th, 2016―Today, Toyota do Brasil LTDA (TDB) officially opens its new engine manufacturing facility in the city of Porto Feliz. Built on a plot of land that covers an area of 872,500 m² (9.39 million sq. ft.), the new facility represents an investment of 18 billion JPY (conversion to 580 million Brazilian R$ or 170 million USD) and approximately 320 direct jobs in the region. With this new manufacturing operation, Toyota reinforces its commitment to the Brazilian economy and increases its support for Latin America and the Caribbean region as a whole. In this, the company remains steadfast to a corporate mission of the betterment of society.

The new Porto Feliz facility is Toyota's first engine plant in the region. Its capacity to produce up to 108,000 units annually will serve production of Toyota's 1.3-liter and 1.5-liter NR engines, which come equipped with Dual VVT-I, four cylinders, and Flex Fuel (in which ethanol is mixed into the gasoline). These modern, durable, and efficient engines are used in the new Etios, which is manufactured in Brazil specifically for customers in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC region) markets.

"Toyota remains committed to the growth of the Latin America region. We feel strongly about doing our part to help stimulate the region's economy. On top of our regional manufacturing operations in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela this new engine facility is testament to Toyota's long-term strategy aimed at helping Latin America and the Caribbean emerge as a global economic power in the coming decades," noted Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's CEO for Latin America and the Caribbean and chairman of Toyota do Brasil.

With the goal of achieving sustainable growth in mind, Toyota is creating plants with a focus on competitiveness, which is a significant shift from the company's previous focus on high-volume production. This new engine facility aims to build plants that incorporate innovative production technology, much in the same vain as the new Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) Engine plant that officially opened in March this year. This corresponds to Toyota's overarching goal of building simple, slim, and flexible plants around the world. As a result, this new engine facility―while compact―is able to effectively handle fluctuations in demand and to house all aspects of the engine manufacturing process under one roof. Initial investment costs for this efficient new plant and its machinery have even been cut by 40 percent in contrast with a comparable investment if made in 2008.

With all of this in the planning, Porto Feliz is positioned to be one of Toyota's most modern plants worldwide. Its compact, flexible, and highly efficient production process will make it one of the most competitive in the region.

The utilization of clean and sustainable manufacturing processes was a top priority in the design of the Porto Feliz plant. For example, through the reduction of equipment size and optimization of some processes in the original assembly line, the plant is able to achieve a dramatic reduction in the waste generated from the casting process. The Porto Feliz engine manufacturing facility is one of Toyota's first outside of Japan to have all three production processes (casting, machining, and assembly) located at a single site.

"One of Toyota's priorities in the region is to develop companies and facilities focused on competitiveness and sustainability. This stems from engaging in long-term planning and analysis before an investment is made. Thus, our operations tend to remain stable even amidst more complex economic conditions. We are convinced that the tree planted in Porto Feliz is ready to bear fruit, now, and well into the future," said St. Angelo.

Toyota production in Brazil dates back to 1959 with a Complete Knock Down facility of TDB, Toyota's first manufacturing affiliate outside of Japan. Since then, Toyota has aimed to manufacture vehicles valued by Brazilian consumers on location; a goal symbolized by the more than 100,000 "Bandeirante" UVs produced and sold between 1958 and 2001.

TDB has also been heavily involved in activities rooted in the community, such as the supporting the protection of Manatee habitats, participating in the protection of a native bird, the Blue Macaw found in the Pantanal Wetland area, and the implementation of "green belt" construction around its plants―which means that more than 245,000 trees have been planted in Sorocaba and more than 35,000 in Porto Feliz.