The Toyota factory located in Valenciennes, France, has achieved a remarkable milestone, producing five million cars since it began operations. Celebrating this achievement, the 5 millionth vehicle is a custom-ordered Yaris Cross, emblazoned in the colours of the French flag.
The Yaris and its derivative Yaris Cross are currently produced in this factory. Toyota’s plant in northern France produces hybrid versions of these two bestsellers.
The factory started operating in January 2001, and the first model produced at this location was the first-generation Yaris. Initially, the production capacity of the French factory was 150,000 cars per year.
Last year, this Toyota factory produced 273,788 cars. The Yaris Cross model was the Japanese brand’s best-selling car on the European market, with more than 173,000 units sold. And this year, the SUV from the B segment is leading Toyota’s sales in Europe.
Currently, 5,000 employees work at the Toyota plant in France, and more than 1,200 Yaris and Yaris Cross examples are produced daily. Toyota has invested a total of €1.6 billion in the Valenciennes facilities, including capital investments for each new generation and model and significant funds to continuously improve the environmental performance of manufacturing operations.