Toyota’s UK manufacturing facility at Burnaston in Derbyshire has launched a double celebration as both the new Auris and new Avensis began to roll off the production line.
Simultaneous production of the new Auris (since replaced by the Toyota Corolla) and Avensis took two years of planning, and when it finally began was up to 800 cars per day after just ten days, an impressive feat given the two models are built on the same production line from the press, to welding, to paint shop, and assembly. This includes Avensis saloons, Auris hatchbacks and Touring Sports, in petrol, diesel, and hybrid-powered formats.
Jon Corpe, Project Manager at Toyota Manufacturing UK, explained: “Normally, as production of an outgoing model slows down, the build of the new one takes over on the line to compensate, so the number of cars leaving the plant is fairly consistent. In this case, production of both models came to an end at the same time. We had to be sure we could meet global demand for the new cars immediately.”
“Press, weld and paint shops have new tooling and jigs to support body manufacture and painting, and the substantial number of improvements to the vehicle, in areas such as safety and handling, require additional parts and processes. But the greatest level of change is in the plastics and assembly shops. In plastics, most of the processes have been affected, calling for new moulds and great deal of new tooling and equipment, and half the assembly processes are new as well.”
An initial 91 examples of the new models rolled off the Burnaston assembly line back in December as part of the training, testing, and evaluation process, with members of the workforce then undergoing comprehensive training in both Japan and Europe in preparation for production to start in earnest.
The new models bring with them a trio of engines, all of which are Euro 6 emissions compliant, while Burnaston’s vehicle test track was upgraded to meet the needs of Toyota’s Safety Sense package which is a feature of the new Auris and Avensis models.
The new Avensis is already on sale and customer deliveries will commence later this month. The Auris will follow on 1 July when order books are opened, with deliveries to start in September.
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