The transmission cooperates with the latest generation of the 1.5-liter engine designed on the basis of Toyota TNGA's global design platform (Toyota New Global Architecture), the production of which began in June 2020 in Jelcz-Laskowice
In the first half of the year, sales of the Yaris, Toyota's most popular model in Europe, accounted for more than a fifth (21.1%) of the company's total cars. At the same time, in Poland, Yaris account for as much as 36.2% of all Toyota sales. The new generation of Toyota Yaris has won the title of European Car of the Year 2021. Hybrid drives also go to Toyota Yaris Cross, Toyota's first SUV in the B segment, whose production began in France in July this year. This model is very popular among customers, as evidenced by over 1867 pre-orders in Poland.
As part of the investment in both hybrid transmission production lines, Toyota expanded the forging plant in Wałbrzych by 1700 m2 and installed new machining lines, MG1 electric motor production line and assembly line in the current transmission hall. In addition, at the end of the year, another line of TNGA 1.5 l hybrid engines will be launched in Wałbrzych. In this way, the production of electric hybrid drives for Toyota Yaris and Yaris Cross will be doubled. In connection with these projects, the plant in Wałbrzych employed an additional 300 employees.
„Despite the turmoil in the market caused by the pandemic, limited availability of semiconductors and the temporary suspension of car production, we managed to launch the new line a few weeks earlier than the original deadlines. This is mainly due to our employees who, using modern methods of on-line communication, were able to install and launch machines and carry out production tests together with suppliers and engineers from Japan and other countries" - emphasizes Dariusz Mikołajczak, President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland.
This is the fifth in a package of six hybrid projects launched in Polish factories over the years 2018-2021. After the launch of all projects in 2022, three lines of hybrid electric transmissions and three lines of motors designed in the TNGA architecture will operate at Toyota's Polish plants in Wałbrzych and Jelcz-Laskowice. In addition, in 2020, TMMP launched the Hybrid Drive Test and Evaluation Department, which aims to accelerate the testing process of hybrid drives and the location of hybrid component production in Europe. Along with the currently implemented projects, the level of investment in both plants by 2022 will increase to almost PLN 6 billion, production capacity to 1.65 million components per year and employment to over 3,000 people.
TMMP's latest investments are a key element of Toyota Motor Europe's strategy to further localise electric hybrid powertrain production in Europe to meet the company's goal of selling 1.4 million vehicles per year by 2025. Toyota plans for 2025 to include electrified powertrains: hybrid, plug-in hybrid and zero-emission battery or hydrogen powertrains.
Projects related to hybrid technology implemented in Polish Toyota factories
TNGA architectureToyota New Global Architecture is the global architecture in which all new Toyota models are currently designed. This platform stands for common principles for the construction of individual chassis types and bodies, as well as drivetrains for various models. Its characteristic feature is a lower center of gravity and a stiffer car body, which translates into a high level of passive safety and greater driving comfort. From the production side, TNGA means designing automated production lines, and thus higher efficiency, a modular structure of the line enabling the production of various types of components or drives on one production line, as well as better ergonomics and lower environmental impact.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Poland (TMMP)
TMMP has two plants located in Lower Silesia region in Poland. The factory in Wałbrzych produces electric transmissions for low-emission hybrid cars with 1.8-liter, 1.5-liter and 1-liter gasoline engines as well as manual and semi-automatic transmissions. Its current annual production capacity is 525,000 electric hybrid transmissions, 258,000 engines and 633,000 manual & semi-automatic transmissions. The plant in Jelcz-Laskowice produces 1.5 l and 2.0 l TNGA gasoline engines, and its production capacity is 312 thousand engines per year. TMMP factories supply assembly plants of Toyota and Lotus companies, operated by European companies in the Czech Republic, Great Britain, France, Turkey and Russia, and outside Europe: in South Africa and Japan.
