Toyota Announces New President of North American Manufacturing Headquarters

ERLANGER, Ky., June 23 -- Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TMMNA) today announced Seiichi "Sean" Sudo as its new president and CEO, succeeding Atsushi "Art" Niimi. The effective date is June 27.

"I have been fortunate to be president of our North American manufacturing operations during such a time of rapid growth," said Mr. Niimi, who will return to Japan as senior managing director of TMC. "I am confident that Seiichi Sudo will be an excellent leader to manage this growth while continuing to improve our vehicle quality."

During Mr. Niimi's tenure as president, Toyota has announced or opened several major North American facilities, including a truck plant in San Antonio, Texas, a truck bed and vehicle plant in Baja California, Mexico, a casting plant in Jackson, Tennessee, and an engine plant in Huntsville, Alabama. Many of Toyota's North American plants have announced expansions during this time as well, including the addition of hybrid vehicles in Georgetown, Kentucky and building Hino trucks at TABC in Long Beach, California.

Seiichi Sudo joined Toyota in 1974 with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked his way up to general manager of the Project Planning & Management Department of the Production Control Division by 1998. Three years later, January 2001, Mr. Sudo was named vice president at TMMNA in charge of production control and corporate strategy until he was promoted to managing officer at TMC in June 2003.

In addition, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today that Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Inc. (TMMC) President Ray Tanguay was confirmed as a managing officer by the TMC board of directors. Mr. Tanguay will also take on additional responsibilities as a senior vice president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA) and as an executive vice president of TMMNA.

Ray Tanguay was named the first Canadian President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., in 2002. Mr. Tanguay joined TMMC in 1991 as General Manager in charge of general affairs and information systems. In 1993, he became Vice-President in charge of manufacturing and engineering. He became Senior Vice-President of TMMC in 2000, with responsibility for human resources, general affairs, information systems, purchasing, and production control. His leadership has been behind innovations in various areas at Toyota, including information technology and logistics.

In a related announcement, Steve St. Angelo, formerly vice president at TMMNA, was promoted to executive vice president. Mr. St. Angelo will be responsible for manufacturing and manufacturing support operations at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK), where he will report to TMMK President Gary Convis. Prior to joining Toyota earlier this year, Mr. St. Angelo retired from General Motors after a 30-year career.

By 2006, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build 1.66 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines, and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America. The company's direct investment is nearly $16.6 billion, with annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totaling nearly $25 billion. Toyota's North American-produced vehicles include the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, and the Lexus RX330.