After over 50 years maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in Australia, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has ended their run of locally-produced cars with the closure of their Altona plant.
Approximately 3,000 attendees were present at the closing ceremony this morning, including current and former employees, suppliers, affiliate companies, as well as guests from Japan as representatives from Toyota Motor Corp mothership.
During the even, Toyota Australia President Dave Buttner expressed appreciation for the efforts of everyone that made their local manufacturing arm possible, praising their ongoing commitment to the brand and the pursuit of excellence.
"It is you, our dedicated employees, who have built Toyota into Australia's leading car company - the biggest-selling brand for 20 individual years, including the past 14 in a row. It is your efforts that have helped Toyota become a byword for quality, for reliability and for trust wherever you go in Australia,”
“Toyota will maintain a sizeable presence in Australia. The company will continue to provide the Australian market with a diverse range of high quality vehicles, which I have no doubt will exceed expectations."
The Altona site will not be left unused, however, as Toyota Australia has plans underway to develop a Centre of Excellence on the premises, requiring a relocation of some key business units, but will soon include a new training facility and come to house a 150-strong team with expanded design and engineering capabilities at their disposal.
Akio Toyoda, Global President of Toyota Motor Corporation and grandson of founder Sakichi Toyoda, appeared via video stream to the crowd at Altona to further express gratitude to the employees, suppliers, and customers that have supported Toyota’s manufacturing development in Australia. He previously visited the facility in August.
For more on Toyota vehicles, check out our Showroom.
