Kolín-based carmaker Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic began production of the Toyota Yaris today. Over the last three years, Toyota has invested over 180 million euros (approximately 4.5 billion crowns) in expanding its operations in Cologne. The Toyota Yaris is now produced on the same line as the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroën C1 models, company spokesman Tomáš Paroubek told reporters today.
Production is now starting, so about 700 to 800 cars leave the production line every day. After full start-up, 1,000 cars will be produced in three-shift operation daily in Kolín. About half of them will be Yaris, the other half the remaining models. Cologne’s Toyota becomes the second European plant to produce Yaris. In Cologne, the Yaris will be manufactured with both hybrid and conventional combustion engines.
“The start of production of the new Yaris in Kolín should further strengthen the carmaker’s position on the Czech market. Toyota is already the fourth best-selling brand with a share of just over five percent in the Czech market and half of the cars sold are in a hybrid variant,” said Toyota and Lexus CR CEO Martin Peleška. According to him, from January to October, Toyota concluded almost 16,000 customer contracts on the Czech market.
The new halls are used for logistics purposes, or some parts of the cars are pre-manufactured here, which are then moved directly to the production line. “In the last three years, we have built new production facilities, set up new logistics routes, engaged new suppliers, installed new technologies, and welcomed almost 1,600 new employees to the Toyota plant,” said Koreatsu Aoki, President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic.
So far, more than 2,630 customers have bought a Toyota Yaris in the Czech Republic so far, and 2,398 units were sold last year. The Yaris is thus the fourth best-selling model in the small car class. Next year, the new Aygo X will also be produced in Cologne, and this car should reach customers for the first time at the turn of spring and summer. Yaris was originally scheduled to start production in Cologne in August, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, production began to delay by about two months.
The Yaris is the first in the segment to use the new TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) chassis platform. The engine offers a new 1.5-horsepower 1.5 Dynamic Force three-cylinder petrol engine and its 116-horsepower hybrid Hybrid Dynamic Force version, which provides the driver with more agile responses, a 15 percent increase in system power and a more than 20 percent reduction in consumption. .
Toyota Yaris is sold in the Czech Republic for a price starting at 350,000 crowns. The hybrid can be purchased from CZK 460,000. For example, the competing Peugeot 208 sells from 392,000 crowns, the Citroën C3 can be purchased from 299,900 crowns. Volkswagen Polo costs from 360,900 crowns.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic is one of the largest exporters in the Czech Republic and also the largest employer in the Kolín region. According to the Association of the Automotive Industry, car production at the Kolín car manufacturer fell by 26.4 percent to 147,865 cars last year. It employs about 4,000 people.