ANN ARBOR, Mich. (April 5, 2012) – The Toyota Technical Center (TTC), a division of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., (TEMA), announced today that the company has opened a dedicated office in California’s Silicon Valley furthering Toyota’s commitment to localizing research and development activities in North America and enhancing the customer’s experience with in-vehicle infotainment systems.

“The enhancement of in-vehicle infotainment technology in the coming years will be an important feature to our customers, especially as technology and vehicles continue to evolve,” said Seiya Nakao, President of TTC. “Toyota’s Silicon Valley office will collaborate closely with our key innovative partners in the region with the goal of bringing new ideas to market quicker through product development.”

TTC will co-locate with the Toyota Info Technology Center (ITC) in their Mountain View, Calif., office leveraging complementary knowledge and skills to implement new product applications and technological advancement to its vehicles.

For more than 35 years, TTC has been the driving force behind Toyota's North American engineering and research & development activities. Established in 1977 and headquartered in Michigan, TTC has R&D facilities in Ann Arbor, Saline, Plymouth and Livonia. In addition, TTC has R&D facilities in California and operates the Toyota Arizona Proving Ground near Phoenix.

TTC employs over 1,100 team members and is engaged in engineering design, vehicle evaluation and engineering, materials engineering, prototype building, powertrain tuning and design, safety/crashworthiness, regulatory affairs and advanced research. TTC has development responsibilities for the Avalon, Camry, Sienna, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and RAV4 EV.