Toyota Motor Corp plans to upgrade its UK carmaking plant in a sign that concerns about Brexit will not derail its investments in the country for now.
The world’s second-biggest automaker is to spend ￡240 million (US$294 million) to update equipment and technology at a factory in Burnaston, England, to allow the production of models on its latest platform, Toyota said on Thursday.
The UK government will supply as much as ￡21.3 million of that for training, research and development, subject to due diligence, the carmaker said.
Photo: Reuters
“We are very focused on securing the global competitiveness of our European plants,” Toyota Motor Europe chief executive Johan van Zyl said in a statement.
However, he added that “continued tariff-and-barrier free market access between the UK and Europe that is predictable and uncomplicated will be vital for future success.”
Carmakers are concerned that the UK’s exit from the EU might lead to costly trade barriers, hampering the free movement of components and vehicles between production sites and end consumers across Europe.
Toyota rival Nissan Motor Co has said it wants the government to spend ￡100 million to help build the nation’s supply base and pledged to expand production at its Sunderland plant only after receiving assurances about Britain’s policies toward the industry.
Ford Motor Co is planning to cut costs at its Bridgend engine plant in Wales, which could mean job losses, and BMW AG is reportedly weighing whether to build its electric Mini in Germany rather than its factory near Oxford, after Brexit.
Toyota’s investment is part of a global upgrade of facilities and is not related to Brexit, a company spokesman said.
More than 75 percent of the 180,000 Auris and Avensis vehicles that came out of that factory last year were exported to mainland Europe.
The upgrade of the factory will enable production of new vehicles using the so-called Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), which debuted on the Prius hybrid in 2015.
Toyota says the TNGA program aims to trim manufacturing costs by as much as 30 percent.
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