Toyota Plans Global Vehicle-and-parts Supply Network (IMV Project)

TOKYO ― TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced plans today for a globe-spanning network for supplying pickup trucks, multipurpose vehicles and major vehicle components to Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, Central and South America and other regions from production bases in ASEAN countries, South Africa and Argentina.

The new network, called the "IMV Project" and scheduled to begin operation in 2004, is aimed at greatly enhancing Toyota's competitiveness by optimizing its worldwide development, procurement and production activities through orderly and efficient tie-ups among production bases outside of Japan.

Key to the network will be: the supply of vehicles and major components, such as engines, from and/or between Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and India; and the expansion of vehicle production and export activities in South Africa for supply to Europe and Africa and the same in Argentina for Central and South America.

TMC envisions this development as further enhancing Toyota's contribution to the automobile industries and national economies of the countries concerned.

Roles by region/country
While this new structure will increase the degree to which Toyota's production facilities in ASEAN mutually complement one another, it will also establish ASEAN as an important international supply base.

Toyota production facilities in Thailand, for example, will fill the role of globally supplying pickup trucks, multipurpose vehicles and diesel engines. Annual pickup/multipurpose vehicle production in Thailand will be expanded to 200,000 units, half of which will be earmarked for export to more than 80 countries and territories within and beyond ASEAN. Toyota will increase diesel engine production in Thailand to 240,000 units a year and expects to annually export 130,000 units.

In Indonesia, annual multipurpose vehicle production will be expanded to 70,000 units, 10,000 of which will be exported within and beyond the region, while gasoline engine production will be stepped up to 180,000 units annually, 130,000 of which will be designated for export.

South Africa will become a base for supplying Europe and Africa with both pickups and multipurpose vehicles. Production will be increased to 60,000 units a year, 30,000 of which will be exported.

Argentina will become a base for supplying Central and South America, also with both pickups and multipurpose vehicles.Production will be increased to 60,000 units a year, 45,000 of which will be exported to Brazil and other countries in the region.

India, meanwhile, will become a base for supplying manual transmissions.