May. 20, 2003

Toyota Motor Europe (TME)―a Brussels-based holding company owned by Toyota Motor Corporation that oversees Toyota’s marketing, research & development and manufacturing activities in Europe―issued the following press release on May 20.

Toyota Plans To Increase Production Capacity in Europe

Toyota today announced plans to increase production capacity in Europe by moving from two to three work-shifts at its plants in Burnaston, UK, and Valenciennes, France, starting in the second quarter of 2004. Annual production capacity in the U.K. will increase from the current 220,000 vehicles to around 270,000 Toyota Corolla and Avensis. This will create about 1,000 new jobs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK). Adding a third shift, Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) could increase its current annual production capacity from 184,000 to 240,000 Yaris models. In a first phase, 500 new jobs will be created to bring annual capacity to 210,000 units. The capacity increase at the two plants will support Toyota’s further growth in Europe.

This is the first time Toyota will run a three-shift system in a vehicle plant. The increased production at TMMF and TMUK will lead to improvements in capacity utilisation, and is expected to benefit Toyota’s profitability in Europe. The decision is also consistent with Toyota’s philosophy of building cars where they are sold, in order to respond better to customer expectations and to contribute to the societies in which it operates.

With the current annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles at its Turkish Adapazari plant (TMMT) and the planned capacity increase at TMMF and TMUK, Toyota will have a total production capacity of about 610,000 vehicles per year. In addition, Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën will start manufacturing 300,000 entry-level small passenger cars in the Czech Republic starting in 2005, of which 100,000 will be for the Toyota brand.

Toyota’s plants at Burnaston and Deeside were Toyota’s first manufacturing sites in Europe. In December 2002 they celebrated their 10th anniversary, having produced over 1.3 million vehicles and 1.1 million engines in the U.K. In January 2003 the Burnaston plant started manufacturing the all new Toyota Avensis, alongside the Toyota Corolla. The new UK-built Toyota Avensis will be the first Toyota to be exported from Europe to Japan. TMUK currently employs about 4,600 people.

The Valenciennes plant in the north of France has been making the successful Yaris model since January 2001 and saw the 200,000th Toyota Yaris roll off the production line in January 2003. Capacity was increased to 184,000 units last November, meaning one Toyota Yaris is produced every minute at the Valenciennes plant. In mid-January, the plant announced plans to assemble 30,000 diesel engines annually, in addition to 150,000 petrol engines, for the Toyota Yaris. TMMF currently employs more than 2,600 people.

In the first quarter of 2003, Toyota sold an all-time record 212,069 units in Europe - an increase of 4% over the same period last year. Toyota’s European market share for the first three months reached 4.6%, up from 4.5 % in the same period last year. Toyota has set a 2003 sales goal of 790,000 units in Europe, up 4.5 % from the 755,633 units sold last year. The company expects that its 2005 objective of selling 800,000 units in Europe might be achieved earlier than anticipated.