Toyota Strengthens Manufacturing Organization

New Manufacturing Project Innovation Center aimed to respond to customers’ mobility needs

PLANO, Texas (November 4, 2019) – As part of its commitment to mobility and helping people find better ways to go places, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) today announced several changes to its organization to further improve unprecedented changes to the automotive landscape.

Effective immediately, TMNA will establish a Manufacturing Project Innovation Center (MPIC), a new group based at its headquarters to be led by Mike Bafan, group vice president. Bafan will remain chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California (TMMBC) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Guanajuato (TMMGT).

MPIC will focus on strategic manufacturing initiatives related to mobility transformation; CASE (connected, autonomous, shared, electric) technologies; benchmarking; and advanced processing initiatives that incorporate new technology at the company’s 15 North American manufacturing facilities. MPIC will report directly to Christopher Reynolds, chief administration officer, manufacturing and corporate resources.

TMNA will assign manufacturing leaders to align and improve the operational speed and transformation at its North American vehicle plants based on platforms and common architectures as follows:

Susan Elkington will assume additional responsibility as passenger car and SUV platform leader in addition to her current role, president, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK). Elkington will have responsibilities for platform and operational alignments for TMMK, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada; Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana; and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi.

Kevin Voelkel will assume additional responsibility as truck platform leader in addition to his current role, president, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (TMMTX). Voelkel will have responsibilities for platform and operational alignments for TMMTX; TMMBC; TMMGT; and Toyota Auto Body California.

Elkington and Voelkel will continue to report to Brian Krinock, senior vice president, vehicle manufacturing and production engineering.

“These improvements will enable our manufacturing team to better respond to our customers’ needs as we transform our business into a world-class mobility company,” said Reynolds. “We are more confident than ever that we’re at the leading-edge of our industry’s transformation and have positioned ourselves for long-term, sustainable success.”

With more than $27 billion in direct U.S. investment, including 10 U.S. plants, Toyota has committed to invest $13 billion more in the U.S. by 2021.

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About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Victor Vanov
469-292-1318
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Marjorie Schussel
469-292-2404
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