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Toyota Announces New President For North American Manufacturing

25 June 1998

Toyota Announces New President For North American Manufacturing

    ERLANGER, Ky., June 25 -- Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has
announced Teruyuki Minoura as the new president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing
North America, Inc. (TMMNA).  He succeeds Mikio Kitano, who will return to
Japan next month to become president of Toyota TechnoCraft, a company
specializing in prototype auto bodies and racing car body design.
    Minoura has served as executive vice president of TMMNA, located near
Cincinnati in Erlanger, Ky., since its incorporation in the fall of 1996.  The
company manages Toyota's North American manufacturing facilities, which now
number seven in the United States and Canada.
    "Toyota builds more vehicles in North America than any other area outside
of  Japan, so assuring quality and efficiency in production is critical to our
success," said Hiroshi Okuda, president of TMC.  "I am very confident in Mr.
Minoura's abilities to provide leadership, direction and guidance for our
manufacturing operations in North America."
    Minoura, 54, also becomes a new member of the Toyota Motor Corporation
Board of Directors.  He has been with Toyota since 1967.
    Prior to joining TMMNA, Minoura held numerous positions with Toyota in
Japan, including general manager of the Americas Project Division, Human
Resources Development and Logistics Administration.
    Mikio Kitano also has served as the president of Toyota Motor
Manufacturing, Kentucky.  He is being succeeded there by Masamoto Amezawa, who
most recently has been executive vice president of that company.
    Toyota now has the capacity to produce more than one million vehicles per
year in North America, including Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Sienna, Solara,
Tacoma and the new large pick-up truck.  When its new plants in Princeton,
Ind. and Buffalo, W.Va. reach full capacity, the company will employ nearly
20,000 Americans within its manufacturing operations.