by Gilles Guillaume

VALENCIENNES (Nord) (Reuters) – Toyota is aiming for a production capacity of 300,000 cars per year for its Valenciennes (Nord) plant in order to meet European demand for hybrid models that emit less CO2, the chairman of Toyota Motor said on Thursday. Manufacturing France.

The site, founded in 2001, produced 255,584 cars last year, making it the largest car factory in France.

“We are capable of making 290,000, or even 300,000 today, if the demand is there,” Jim Crosbie told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the on-site production of Toyota’s ten millionth Yaris city car.

The northern plant, which employs 5,000 people, should set a new production record this year at more than 280,000 units, driven by demand for the Yaris and its SUV version Yaris Cross, sold mainly in hybrid versions including gasoline engines and systems. hybrids come from Poland.

Petrol-electric hybridization, where the Japanese group was one of the precursors, remains at the heart of its electrification strategy, pending the arrival of an all-electric range such as the all-new BZ4X SUV made in Japan. to inaugurate.

Didier Leroy, president of Toyota Motor Europe, sees in the success of the Valenciennes site proof that it is still possible to produce vehicles in Western Europe despite the fears aroused by the resurgence of protectionist measures around the world, especially in the United States.

“Europe must not be naive and must, in return, be extremely attentive,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the event. “The fact of not being able to export if we put barriers at the borders on all the subjects can be a source of concern for a certain number of European manufacturers.”

PRODUCING IN EUROPE FOR EUROPE

But with its regional location strategy, Toyota does not have this kind of concern in Europe, continued Didier Leroy. “At the time, some said it was stupid, that it couldn’t work because it was obvious that we can no longer produce in Western Europe. We demonstrated the opposite.”

One of Toyota’s four European car factories, Valenciennes exports its production mainly to the continent. The export from France of a small volume of Yaris to the United States fizzled.

“Since the beginning of Toyota’s history, we have always started from a principle (…): to succeed on the whole planet, you have to be a local player”, added the president of Toyota Motor. Europe.

The Yaris, whose name is derived from a Greek goddess, is also produced outside Europe for other geographic markets. The model represents more than a third of the Japanese manufacturer’s annual sales.

Industry for a long time globalized, the automobile is currently confronted with a rise of protectionism which complicates its strategic decisions.

The United States last year announced $369 billion in grants under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which could spur clean energy investment decisions on American soil, while Beijing maintains tight control over the Chinese economy and supports local production of electric vehicles.

The European Union retaliated last month with an industrial “Green Deal” project to protect European-based companies and prevent investment flight.

(Gilles Guillaume report, edited by Kate Entringer and Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters