Pay it forward: Toyota Motor Manufacturing France to share its best practices to seed new “Toyota Valenciennes” community foundation

Usually it’s those celebrating an anniversary who are in for a treat, but the French home of the Toyota Yaris is turning things around: to mark its 15th anniversary, Toyota Motor Manufacturing France (TMMF) is creating a new community foundation called “Toyota Valenciennes.” Speaking at the event on 8 February to mark this occasion, TMMF President Koreatsu Aoki said: “We want to contribute to society by supporting local activities that are in line with our Toyota values. The environment, road safety and technical education will be the three pillars at the heart of the foundation.”

Over the last 15 years TMMF has clearly taken root in the region. It welcomes around 4000 visitors a year, including 2500 students, and makes cars and parts available for local technical education. Now TMMF has decided to move it up a gear, addressing business leaders with an introduction into the topics for which Toyota has gained a strong reputation. Luciano Biondo, Senior Vice President of TMMF: “We’re often asked by large companies to offer trainings in the field of lean production, supply chain management and environmentally friendly industrial processes. We are now bundling our efforts and will start sharing our knowledge through more formal trainings, for a small fee. The proceeds will be donated in their entirety to the new foundation.” 

TMMF has been the home of the Toyota Yaris ever since it started production 15 years ago. The car was developed in response to growing environmental awareness, with a brief to focus on reduced fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. The compact car gained international accolade by winning the ‘European Car of the Year’ award in 2000 and quickly became Toyota Europe’s bestseller. In 2012 a hybrid version was added to the line-up, making the Yaris Hybrid the first full hybrid in the compact B-segment in Europe. One year later the plant started exporting the Toyota Yaris to the North American market. In 2015, the Toyota Yaris secured around 25% of total Toyota’s European sales and the Yaris Hybrid accounted for 36% of total Yaris sales.

With CO₂ levels of 75g/km and fuel consumption of 3,3L/100km (NEDC cycle), the Yaris Hybrid can claim impressive green credentials, but so can the production site. TMMF is an environmental reference in the Toyota Group, being one of Toyota’s five sustainable plants in the world. Since the very beginning, TMMF has been sending zero waste to landfill. On top of continuous reduction of energy usage and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emissions, major achievements include attaining autonomy on water usage. Between August ’14 and August ’15, 132 million litres of rainwater have been recovered in on-site lagoons and 60 million of litres have been recycled over the same period.

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_{Toyota Motor Manufacturing France, production site of the Toyota Yaris and Yaris Hybrid, in Onnaing, north of France, started production on 31 January 2001. The plant produces the Yaris for the European and North American market. TMMF exports to 42 countries outside of France. In 2015, 228,288 Yaris cars were produced (32% hybrid versions). The company has till date invested more than 1 billion euro. TMMF is one of the most environmental production sites in Europe with continuously improving performances.}