- 2.5 million production milestone reached today at Toyota’s Valenciennes, France plant
- The white Yaris Hybrid will be delivered to a customer of Toyota’s Marseille, France retailer
- TMMF gearing up for 3rd shift introduction, start of production of restyled Yaris on June 16
The sales success of Yaris and Yaris Hybrid led TMMF to plan a 15% increase in production for 2014 and introduce a third production shift from June onward. TMMF will then be producing 1,100 Yaris per day versus 840 today. The plan for 2014 calendar year is to produce around 220,000 Yaris, including around 25,000 for export to North America.
The three-shift organisation requires recruiting an additional 500 production members, bringing employment at the Valenciennes plant to more than 4,000. Since recruitment started three months ago, more than 9,000 candidates have applied for jobs at the plant and more than 300 have already joined the initial four-week training. The training leads to a formal qualification certificate under the French professional qualification system.
The plant will start operating on three shifts as of June 16, 2014, which is the timing of the start of production of the restyled Yaris unveiled earlier this week. Both the exterior and the interior of Yaris have been significantly renewed, positioning the car amongst the strongest contenders in the highly competitive B-segment once more.
More information: http://newsroom.toyota.eu/pressrelease/3886//new-yaris-adds-style-content
Agustin Martin, Marketing Director for Toyota Motor Europe, said: “Since its launch, the Yaris has been one of the main pillars of our product offer. Last year, it was the 10th best-selling name plate in Europe. What makes it unique is the availability of a hybrid version. In the reality of today’s congested traffic, there is simply no way to beat a hybrid for comfort and stress-free transportation, and ever more customers are finding out.”
