4 minute read - 30th October 2024
Toyota builds five millionth car at Burnaston plant
Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK) has reached a landmark milestone with the production of its five millionth car at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire. The milestone model came off the assembly line earlier in October and is a Corolla GR Sport hatchback hybrid, finished in scarlet flare paintwork.
Parked nose-to-tail, the UK-built Toyotas would form a line almost 14,000 miles long – more than half way around the world.
Toyota said the achievement highlights TMUK’s status as one of its principal European manufacturing centres and a key player in the UK automotive sector. Since its founding in 1989, Toyota has invested more than £2.82bn in its operations, keeping it at the cutting edge of new technologies, skills and production methods.
Toyota Manufacturing UK has produced its five millionth car at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire / Picture: TMUK/Toyota GB
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The Burnaston plant was the first Toyota facility outside Japan to make hybrid vehicles and it continues to be a centre of excellence for the technology. Today, 100% of UK production is hybrid.
At the same time, TMUK has consistently been a global trailblazer for Toyota’s wide-ranging environmental programme, pioneering the generation and use of sustainable energy sources, minimising waste and maximising opportunities for recovering, recycling and re-using parts and materials. TMUK’s engine plant in Deeside, North Wales, is on course to become Toyota’s first global carbon neutral production site in 2025.
Darius Mikolajczak, TMUK managing director, said: “This is a proud moment for everyone at TMUK and symbolic of the commitment to quality, productivity and competitiveness that is at the heart of our business and shared by all our members. The milestone of five million cars represents more than just a numerical achievement. It also reflects our contribution to the UK economy and our continued investment in making ever-better cars, embracing new technologies and new ways of working, while building strong and mutually rewarding relationships both with our suppliers, our partners and our local communities.”
Since its founding in 1989, TMUK has benefited from more than £2.82bn of investment / Picture: TMUK/Toyota GB
Toyota built its first European production facilities in the UK – establishing TMUK with an engine plant in Deeside, North Wales, and a car factory at Burnaston, near Derby. These plants came on stream in 1992. Today, TMUK directly employs around 3,000 people and many thousands more indirectly in an extensive supply chain.
Burnaston was Toyota’s first plant in Europe to produce full hybrid vehicles and is the European centre of production for the Corolla hatchback and Touring Sports full hybrid models. Deeside manufactures engines, including hybrid engines, for the Corolla and Toyota C-HR models. The majority of TMUK’s vehicle production (around 85%) is exported, mostly to the EU and other European markets.
Today, TMUK directly employs around 3,000 people and many thousands more indirectly in an extensive supply chain / Picture: TMUK/Toyota GB
The Toyota UK production timeline
1992: the Carina E was the first car to come off the Burnaston production line, on 16 December.
1997: Carina E is replaced by the all-new Avensis, the first of three generations of the mid-size salon, hatchback and Touring estate. All versions of the car sold in Europe were UK-built and almost two million were made up to the end of production in July 2018.
1998: the first Corolla models – five-door hatchbacks – are manufactured at the plant.
2001: an all-new Corolla hatch enters production and becomes the one millionth car built at Burnaston.
2006: Corolla makes way for the all-new Auris.
2010: the first generation Auris ushers in the start of hybrid vehicle production at TMUK.
2011: Toyota announces that TMUK will be the sole European production centre for the second generation Auris, building both hatchback and Touring Sports estate versions of the car – including hybrids. The decision is backed by a £100m investment in Burnaston.
2019: Auris production comes to a close and Corolla makes a welcome return to the UK market in an all-new 12th generation.
2022: Burnaston becomes the research and development centre of a new version of the Toyota Hilux pick-up – a model renowned for its exceptional toughness and ability to tackle the harshest environments. A Toyota-led consortium successfully develops a model powered by a hydrogen fuel cell system, which makes its public debut in prototype form in June 2024.
2024: TMUK remains responsible for the manufacture of all hatchback, Touring Sports and commercial versions of the model, which since 2023 have used fifth-generation hybrid technology.
Throughout, the British-built Toyota models have been equipped with engines built by TMUK at Deeside.
