TOYOTA UK'S FIRST ENGINE LINE-OFF AT DEESIDE

Toyota City―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today that the first engine from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Ltd's (TMUK) new engine plant came off the line in Deeside, Wales.

The UK-built 1.6-liter engines will be exported to Japan until production of the Carina E (known as the Corona in Japan) begins at Toyota UK's new Burnaston passenger-car plant in the Midlands in December. The engines are to be mounted on the Europe-bound Carina E presently being built in Japan.

"Today is an important milestone for Toyota UK―these Deeside engines are truly deserving of the Toyota badge," said Chairman Eiji Toyoda, who attended a ceremony today at TMUK to commemorate the event. "This confirms our confidence of a successful future in Europe."

Toyota announced its plans to set up a manufacturing operation in Europe―the world's largest single market―in April 1989. The engine plant represents a total investment of £140 million and will eventually employ 300 people.

The plant is now manufacturing both learn-burn and stoichiometric 4-cylinder 16-valve engines and is aiming for initial production levels of 100,000 units per year.

Later this year, Toyota will begin producing Carina E passenger cars at a new £700-million facility being completed in Derbyshire, U.K. The plant will build 200,000 (100,000 in phase I) cars annually and provide an additional 3,000 jobs.