 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Headquarters | Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
Key people |
|
| Parent | Toyota |
| Website | www |
Toyota Australia is an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese car manufacturerToyota. It markets Toyota products and manages motorsport, advertising and business operations for Toyota in Australia. It is also responsible forLexus vehicles in Australia.
Toyota Australia is based inPort Melbourne, with offices inAdelaide,Perth,Sydney,Brisbane,Townsville andDarwin.[1]
Toyota Australia manufactured cars locally from 1963 until 2017.
Toyota Australia commenced operations in 1959, whenToyota Land Cruisers were imported by Thiess Toyota, a 60/40 joint venture betweenThiess and Toyota, for theSnowy Mountains Scheme.[2][3][4] By 1963, assembly of Toyota vehicles in Australia byAustralian Motor Industries (AMI) had begun, taking place at the production plant inPort Melbourne. The production line of Toyota vehicles in 1963 was devoted to theToyota Tiara.
In 1972 Toyota bought outBritish Leyland's interest in AMI[5] and announced plans to spend $127 million on an engine and gearbox plant.[5]
TheToyota Australia Altona Plant was established and began the production of engines in 1978, following the progressive growth of AMI. In 1980, Toyota exercised an option to buy Thiess' share of Thiess Toyota.[6][7] After Toyota's products came in for heavy criticism regarding their handling, a handling package developed specifically for the Australian market was introduced in 1981.[8] The first AMI exported car was aToyota Corona wagon in 1986 headed for New Zealand.[9]
In 1983, Toyota Australia launched an Australian version of thejingle "Oh, what a feeling", which had been used in the US before; it is still used today.[10]
In 1987, under the leadership ofRobert Johnston, Toyota Australia andHolden formedUnited Australian Automobile Industries in response to theButton car plan. This resulted in Toyota Australia buildingHolden Apollo andHolden Novas at Altona that werebadge engineeredCamrys andCorollas. In exchange Holden built Toyota Lexcen which was a rebadged Commodore.
The one-millionth locally built Toyota was produced in 1992. In 1994, all vehicle manufacturing operations were moved from Port Melbourne to Altona. The last vehicle produced at the Port Melbourne plant was aToyota Camry and the first vehicle produced at the Altona plant aToyota Corolla. Port Melbourne continued performing minor operations.
The two-millionth locally built Toyota was produced in 2004. In 2005, the ten-millionth worldwide Camry was built at Altona. The complete closure and end of all Toyota production operations at the Port Melbourne plant took place in May 2006. All manufacturing was shifted to Altona. The milestone of the 500,000th Toyota Australia vehicle export also occurred in May 2006. The vehicle was a Toyota Camry, headed for New Zealand. The one-millionth export was reached in August 2012.[9]
Many Toyota vehicles have been built at either Altona or Port Melbourne, including theTiara, Corona,Crown,Corolla, Camry andAvalon. TheToyota Land Cruiser was never built in Australia.
As of 2006, Altona produced the Camry. Production of the Avalon has ceased, due for replacement on the manufacturing line by theToyota Aurion, which shares many components with the Camry. Production of the Camry Hybrid began in 2010 after a $35 million subsidy was secured from thefederal government.[11] The first locally made Australian Toyota Hybrid Camry was completed and revealed to public on 11 December 2009, driven by Prime MinisterKevin Rudd.
In February 2014, it was announced Toyota would cease manufacturing vehicles and engines in Australia by the end of 2017.[12][13][14] The decision was based on the unfavourable Australian dollar making exports not viable, the high cost of local manufacture and the high amount of competition in a relatively small local market.[14] The company consolidated its corporate functions in Melbourne at the end of 2017 when its Sales & Marketing operation relocated from Woolooware Bay, Sydney. Head office (CHQ) remained in Port Melbourne and the Altona plant was retained for other functions including a Centre of Excellence and vehicle proving facility known as the Autodrome. The workforce was expected to be reduced from 3,900 to 1,300.[15]
Toyota built cars in Victoria, Australia between 1963 and 2017.
The Altona factory would build three models—Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion—for domestic and export customers.[citation needed]
In February 2014, Toyota Australia announced its decision to close its manufacturing plant by the end of 2017 and become a national sales and distribution company.
Toyota vehicles built in Australia:
TheToyota Australia Altona Plant manufacturing facility operated in the Melbourne suburb ofAltona. It opened in 1994, replacing the previousPort Melbourne site, but closed in 2017. The plant produced the Camry and Aurion for sale locally in Australasia and for export to the Middle East, as well as the Corolla until the switch to the fully imported 8th Generation. Until the early 2000s, export to East and Southeast Asia also occurred. The plant also manufactured the Avalon between 2000 and 2005.
In December 2009, full-scale production of the new AustralianCamry Hybrid commenced.[16] On 11 December 2009, manufacture of the first locally made Camry Hybrid was completed and revealed to the public, writing a new page in the history of the Australian automotive industry.
In April 2012, Toyota retrenched 350 workers. Toyota received criticism for the manner in which the process was carried out; for example, deploying security guards to escort sacked staff.[17]
The plant closed on 3 October 2017, marking the end of Toyota's automobile manufacturing in Australia.[18]
In March 2019, Toyota announced plans to build a Hydrogen Centre at Altona partly funded by theAustralian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) with existing infrastructure to be repurposed.[19][20] The Hydrogen Centre was commissioned on 29 March 2021 and incorporates a commercial-grade hydrogen production, storage andrefuelling facility together with an education centre and a service facility for aToyota Miraifuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) demonstration fleet.[21][22] The facility has the capacity to produce up to 80kg of hydrogen per day byelectrolysis ofwater with a 200kW electrolyser using electricity from a 87kWsolar panel, a 100kWbattery storage or from thepower grid.[21][22] The hydrogen refuelling station will be the first to be made available to the public in Victoria.[20] The Centre also has a 30kWfuel cell to convert the stored hydrogen into electricity for backup power and to feed into the mains grid.[20][22] The education centre had earlier been completed in April 2020.[23]
The centre will support the newly imported second generation Toyota Mirai released in Australia in April 2021 with an initial allocation of 20 vehicles for organizations and business.[21][22] Toyota previously imported 10 first generation Mirai that were used in a loan program between 2018 and 2019 with a portable refuelling station developed in 2016 that was transportable on a Hino 700 truck to refuel the Mirai.[22][24][25]
Toyota Australia has held the largest market share of Australia's new car market for eighteen consecutive years from 2003 to 2020.
| Year | Units sold | Sales rank | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 186,370 | 1 | [26] |
| 2004 | 201,737 | 1 | [27] |
| 2005 | 202,817 | 1 | [28] |
| 2006 | 213,847 | 1 | [29] |
| 2007 | 236,647 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 238,983 | 1 | [citation needed] |
| 2009 | 200,991 | 1 | [30] |
| 2010 | 214,718 | 1 | [31] |
| 2011 | 181,624 | 1 | |
| 2012 | 218,176 | 1 | [32] |
| 2013 | 214,630 | 1 | [33] |
| 2014 | 203,501 | 1 | [34] |
| 2015 | 206,236 | 1 | [35] |
| 2016 | 209,610 | 1 | [36] |
| 2017 | 216,566 | 1 | [37] |
| 2018 | 217,061 | 1 | [38] |
| 2019 | 205,766 | 1 | [39] |
| 2020 | 204,801 | 1 | [citation needed] |
Above figures exclude Lexus sales.
_SR5_4-door_utility_(2018-09-03)_01.jpg)
_GX_2WD_wagon_(2018-08-27)_01.jpg)
_ZR_hybrid_hatchback_(2018-10-30)_01.jpg)
Passenger models
SUV models
Commercial models
Toyota Team Australia competed in theAustralian Touring Car Championship between1985 and1990 withSprinters,Corollas and aSupra managed by A.M.I Toyota with Team Manager, Tony Niovanni. It also competed in theAustralian Rally Championship withNeal Bates.
In March 2015, Toyota Australia announced an affordable, grassroots motorsport series based on the country's best-selling sports car, theToyota 86 coupe, to be raced atSupercars Championship events. The series started in 2016 and is run as a pro-am with up to five selected professional drivers who will mentor and compete against a larger field of amateur drivers who will qualify to get onto the starting grid. The Toyota 86 Pro-Am race series, under the official banner of Toyota Racing Australia, is staged at selected Supercars events and has been sanctioned by theConfederation of Australian Motor Sport.[40]
Toyota Technical Centre Australia (TTC-AU). Formed in June 2003 inNotting Hill, Victoria[41] to do Body Engineering; Chassis, Mechanical Engineering & Evaluation; Customer Quality Engineering; Electronics Engineering; and Support.[42] This facility closed on 30 June 2016 with the loss of 160 jobs.[43]
Toyota Australia supports a wide range of Australian activities through its community sponsorship and promotions program. These include theAustralian Football League, where it has been the premier partner since 2004, AFLW, as well asCricket Australia, the Australian Paralympic Committee, cycling, triathlon, surfing and snow sports. It is also a key partner of theTamworth Country Music Festival, in addition to being the major sponsor ofPlanet Ark's National Tree Day.[44]
Media related toToyota Motor Corporation Australia at Wikimedia Commons| Australian vehicle manufacturers |
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