Toyota Company Analysis
Toyota in Europe
Kaizen
“Continuous improvement. As no process can ever be declared perfect, there is always room for improvement.”
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. From Looms to Cars: Toyota’s History
6
2. Global Toyota
10
3. Toyota in Europe
14
4. The Toyota Production System
30
5. Customer First
34
6. Sustainability: Economic, Environmental and Social Stewardship
38
7. The Vehicle Line-Up
46
8. Motorsport & Formula One
58
9. The Toyota Work Experience
60
March 2007 edition
|
Foreword
Dear Reader, Since the early 1960’s, Toyota’s presence in Europe has grown and changed, keeping pace with the changing vehicle tastes and requirements of the European public. Since 1992, when the first of our European production facilities was opened in the UK, Toyota has invested over €6 billion throughout Europe. We now employ over 55,000 people, have eight European manufacturing facilities, and a ninth set to become operational in Russia in 2007. But the construction of vehicle and engine assembly plants is only part of the story. Over the past year, we also expanded our technical centre in Belgium, investing an additional €75 million to ensure that Toyota and Lexus vehicles continue to meet the high engineering and design standards of European customers. Another major investment was the new European Global Production Centre in the UK, established for the training of production staff and supervisors from all over Europe. Toyota also continues to invest heavily in the training of our engineering and management staff, as well as our retail and marketing teams. Programmes such as Toyota’s Graduate Development Programme, the School for Retail Development and the Management Development Programme have been designed to ensure that all of our personnel are highly trained in their respective fields. There is one reason, and one reason alone, why
Kaizen
“Continuous improvement. As no process can ever be declared perfect, there is always room for improvement.”
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. From Looms to Cars: Toyota’s History
6
2. Global Toyota
10
3. Toyota in Europe
14
4. The Toyota Production System
30
5. Customer First
34
6. Sustainability: Economic, Environmental and Social Stewardship
38
7. The Vehicle Line-Up
46
8. Motorsport & Formula One
58
9. The Toyota Work Experience
60
March 2007 edition
|
Foreword
Dear Reader, Since the early 1960’s, Toyota’s presence in Europe has grown and changed, keeping pace with the changing vehicle tastes and requirements of the European public. Since 1992, when the first of our European production facilities was opened in the UK, Toyota has invested over €6 billion throughout Europe. We now employ over 55,000 people, have eight European manufacturing facilities, and a ninth set to become operational in Russia in 2007. But the construction of vehicle and engine assembly plants is only part of the story. Over the past year, we also expanded our technical centre in Belgium, investing an additional €75 million to ensure that Toyota and Lexus vehicles continue to meet the high engineering and design standards of European customers. Another major investment was the new European Global Production Centre in the UK, established for the training of production staff and supervisors from all over Europe. Toyota also continues to invest heavily in the training of our engineering and management staff, as well as our retail and marketing teams. Programmes such as Toyota’s Graduate Development Programme, the School for Retail Development and the Management Development Programme have been designed to ensure that all of our personnel are highly trained in their respective fields. There is one reason, and one reason alone, why