Toyota U.K. Pulls Off Rare Twin Launch - Ward's Auto
The automaker’s Burnaston factory, 130 miles (209 km) northwest of London, has begun the simultaneous start of production for the new Auris and Avensis – models at the heart of the brand’s European sales – in a program has never tried before... In the process, the Derbyshire factory had to accelerate from building zero to 800 of the new cars a day, in the space of just 10 days. Project Manager Jon Corpe says that, typically, 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. Members of the workforce prepared for the new vehicles with training in Japan and Brussels and Burnaston built 91 of the new models in December for use in training, testing and product evaluation. The new Auris and Avensis take the number of model launches to nine since Burnaston came on stream in 1992. The changeover meant new equipment and ways of working had to be put in place throughout the plant. “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. Source: wardsauto.com
