Toyota has commenced manufacturing of hybrid-electric transaxles at its Wałbrzych plant in Poland. Production at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland (TMMP) facility marks the first time the component – which is integral to Toyota’s hybrid-electric powertrains – has been manufactured at a plant outside Asia.
The completed hybrid-electric transaxles will be fitted to the new Corolla Hybrid, which is built at Toyota’s Burnaston factory in the UK, and the C-HR Hybrid, which is manufactured in Turkey. The start of transaxle production marks the first stage in Toyota’s introduction of its hybrid technology and the OEM’s new global architecture to its Polish manufacturing facilities.
TMMP is the first Toyota plant outside Asia (and the second outside Japan) to implement production of the hybrid transaxle, which is used to coordinate the synergy between the hybrid system’s electric motors and IC engine. The new manufacturing appointment has created approximately 600 new jobs and brought Toyota’s cumulative investment in its Polish operations to more than €1bn (US$1.1bn).
“We started Europe’s journey toward electrification with the introduction of our first hybrid model here in 2000,” said Dr Johan van Zyl, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe. “Today, almost one in two of our new vehicle sales is a hybrid and the level continues to grow.
“Hybrid technology is our key differentiator. It is one part of our ambitious electrification strategy to sell more than 5.5 million electrified vehicles globally, including one million zero-emission vehicles, per year by 2030. The continued growth of hybrid in Europe allows the expansion of local production of hybrid components.”