20 millionth Toyota vehicle in Europe delivered in Spain

A milestone in the history of Toyota in Europe was achieved today with the delivery of the 20 millionth vehicle. A dark blue Toyota Verso 2.0 D-4D was handed over to Valencia resident, Mr. Gabriel Jiménez, during a celebratory ceremony which took place at the offices of Toyota Spain (TES) in Madrid. The event was attended by Miguel Fonseca, Vice President Sales & Marketing of Toyota Motor Europe (TME), Orhan Özer, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) as well as the top management of Toyota Spain, Katsuhito Ohno, President and CEO and Jacques Pieraerts, Vice President.

Miguel Fonseca, TME Vice President, stated during today's celebrations: "We are honoured and excited to celebrate this key milestone as Toyota has become synonymous to superior quality and innovation in our customers' minds ever since the first Toyota vehicles were driven on European roads 50 years ago." He added: "We remain committed to our focus on customer satisfaction as set out by our founder, Kiichiro Toyoda."

In February 2000, Toyota delivered its 10 millionth vehicle, a Toyota Avensis manufactured in the United Kingdom to a customer in Germany. It took Toyota 40 years to achieve its first 10 million sales in Europe and only a further 10 years to reach the 20 million mark.

The customer, Mr Jiménez said: "This is my first Toyota and I'm very happy. I feel very proud to be the owner of the 20 millionth Toyota in Europe. I chose the Verso as it offers great value for money, plenty of interior space and, of course, good performance. I'm sure that my family and I will enjoy our new car.

"Toyota Spain (TES) Vice President, Jacques Pieraerts, applauded the Jiménez family for their vehicle choice adding that: "Toyota Verso represents one of the key models for our market. For the nine years since it was launched in Spain, it has been a reference within its segment and it continues to be a favourite for our customers.

"Toyota Verso offers high environmental performance with Toyota Optimal Drive technology across its full engine range and is a no-compromise C-segment MPV choice for customers looking for spaciousness, practicality and dynamic styling with unparalleled driving pleasure. The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) awarded the Verso its highest rating (5 stars) for vehicle safety this year.

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT) President and CEO Orhan Özer said: "We are very excited that the 20-millionth Toyota vehicle sale in Europe is a Toyota Verso, a vehicle made specifically for the European market. The whole manufacturing team in our Adapazari-based plant takes pride in the superior quality which we offer our customers."As one of nine Toyota manufacturing plants across Europe, TMMT produces both the Toyota Verso and Auris models. It employs some 3,000 employees and represents a total investment of &euro1.2 billion.