Toyota celebrates the production of the 10 millionth Yaris, a hybrid GR Sport. A step taken at the Valenciennes factory, for a French customer.
In 2023, the Toyota Yaris celebrates its 25th year of production and takes a new step in its worldwide sales. The 10 millionth of these modelsa Yaris GR Sport Hybride chrome grey, has been produced on March 30. And, heartily, it was in France that this happened, on the Onnaing-Valenciennes site (Nord).
A great reward for this Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) site, which produced the Yaris since 2001. The lines have seen this little model evolve for more than 20 years. He went from a simple city car to a hybrid car, then to an SUV, the Yaris Cross from 2021, or a sports version with the GR Sport version. The 10 millionth Yaris model was given to a French customer in the Paris region.
The Valenciennes site has evolved at the same time as the Yaris
The TMMF website is entered service in January 2001with an initial annual production capacity of 150,000 units. In 2022, its annual production already reaches 255,584 units. What makes it the largest French car production sitein terms of volume.
An evolution that was built with that of the Yaris. Thus, last year, the Yaris Cross became the most produced model among all the brands present in France, with 161,508 units. She dethroned the… Yaris, which occupied the head of the classification at seven times over the past 10 years !
The site, which today employs 5,000 peoplemade a cumulative total investment of 1.5 billion euros. In detail, these investments concerned operation for each model or generation, as well as the continuous improvement of the company’s environmental performance.
Thus, a part of the roof was covered with photovoltaic panels and one 400 m2 solar wall has been installed. Since 2019, the site has been consuming renewable type electricity and is autonomous in industrial water.
59% less energy to produce a Toyota Yaris in 20 years
Over the past 20 years, TMMF has succeeded in reduce by 59% the amount of energy needed to manufacture a Yaris. In addition, the recent installation of a new paint line in the Plastics workshop should make it possible to reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1,000 tonnes. TMMF has also set itself the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and no longer emitting CO2 by 2040.
At the end of February 2023, cumulative sales of the Yaris range in Europe reached 5,155,506 units, since 1999. The success story of the Yaris continues. In 2022, this model represented more a third of Toyota’s total sales. i.e. 8% of the segment occupied by this vehicle, with 185,781 copies of Yaris, 156,086 for the Cross version and 5,392 for the GR.
The Yaris thus joins the Corolla, the RAV4, the Hilux, the Camry and the Land Cruiser among the vehicles that have sold more than 10 million units worldwide by Toyota. Something to delight Didier Leroy, President of Toyota Motor Europe:
“Today, 22 years after the inauguration of Toyota’s French site, TMMF celebrates the production of the 10 millionth Yaris sold internationally. This major event in terms of global sales demonstrates the confidence that the Toyota group has always placed in this site, which has produced more than 4.5 million Yaris and Yaris Cross since its creation in 2001. For me, it is a honor and immense pleasure to share this moment with the site’s 5,000 employees. »
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