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Toyota Celebrates With Indiana And West Virginia

11 December 1998

Toyota Celebrates With Indiana And West Virginia This Week As New Plants Build First Products

    PRINCETON, Ind., Dec. 10 -- It is a week of celebration for
Toyota as its two newest North American plants mark the beginning of
production in Indiana and West Virginia.
    Today in Princeton, Ind., 1,000 team members heard praise from Gov. Frank
O'Bannon and Toyota executives as the first Tundra full-size pickup truck made
its debut at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc. (TMMI).
    Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, chairman of the board of directors, Toyota Motor
Corporation, said today marks not only a special day for Indiana, but is also
an important day for Toyota's global efforts.
    "TMMI is vital to Toyota.  With this plant, Toyota will now have capacity
to build more than 1.2 million vehicles in North America.  This is very
significant for us in fulfilling our commitment to localize our production and
investment," Dr. Toyoda said.
    TMMI is scheduled to build 100,000 trucks a year when at full production.
The Tundra is Toyota's first entry into the full-size truck market and will be
made exclusively at the Indiana plant.  It will go on sale in  June, 1999.
Earlier this year, Toyota announced plans to add an all-new, full-size sport
utility vehicle to the production line-up at TMMI.  The plant will have
capacity to make 50,000 SUVs. When production of that vehicle begins in late
2000, employment will reach 2,300 at the $1.2 billion facility.
    Tomorrow Dr. Toyoda will travel to West Virginia to congratulate team
members and representatives of the Putnam County community as the first engine
comes off the line at the Buffalo plant.  Toyoda will be joined by Gov. Cecil
Underwood and U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West
Virginia, Inc. (TMMWV), where some 300,000 Corolla engines will be built
annually.
    Current employment is nearly 200, but will grow to 800 when V6 engine and
automatic transmission production are added at the $900 million plant in
Buffalo.
    Toyota now has eight manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada and
directly employs more than 26,000 people overall at its combined North
American operations.