Toyota Increasing Michigan Research And Development With $126M Expansion

Toyota Motor Corp. is further increasing its research and development work in southeastern Michigan. This Japanese automaker plans to expand its Ann Arbour area operations again.

For the third time in a little more than a year, Toyota has announced an expansion of its Southeast Michigan R&D campuses. The most recent announcement involves an investment of $126 million for the expansion of powertrain operations at its Ann Arbor campus and the consolidation of vehicle development operations at a new facility in its York Township facility. As well as building a 260,000-square-foot facility and relocating 85 workers from California.

Both vehicle development and powertrain functions will become centralized in Michigan, increasing their scope, responsibility and decision-making ability with the expansion of its Ann Arbor operations. Earlier this year, they announced the addition of 250 direct procurement and supplier engineering development positions currently based in Erlanger, KY. The new facilities are scheduled to be completed in 2017.

"The Technical Center continues to be a vital part of our growing North American operations that enables Toyota to package greater value for our customers," said Ed Mantey, senior vice president at the Toyota Technical Center. "Centralizing our vehicle development and powertrain functions here in Michigan is beneficial for our decision-making process and allows us to better respond to changes in the marketplace while improving the speed at which we can offer technology advances to customers."

"Toyota's expansion in the Ann Arbor region is a clear indicator that we offer the perfect infrastructure, talented workforce and support for a growing business," said Paul Krutko President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK. "Toyota could locate its North American powertrain operations anywhere but chose Ann Arbor; the company's investment and the jobs it will create are a continuing win for our economy."

Paving the Road to Zero Waste at Toyota’s Indiana Plant

How do you turn manufacturing sludge into a sustainable building material? Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI) offers a “concrete” example.

Before 2010, water used in the manufacturing process was pumped into the plant’s wastewater treatment system.  It was cleaned and treated with a chemical — ferric sulfate— to remove metals and contaminants. The result was a useless iron-rich sludge left behind as waste…a LOT of waste. Sludge was nearly 70 percent of TMMI’s total waste stream each month. 

Enter Toyota’s ongoing commitment to eco-efficient operations. To minimize waste and conserve natural resources, TMMI tested different additives in order to find a more natural way to treat the sludge from TMMI’s wastewater streams and the paint shop. Lime slurry,

 a non-hazardous mineral and more cost-effective alternative, performed the best. It reduced wastewater sludge by 4 pounds per vehicle, the equivalent of eliminating over 1 million pounds of wastewater sludge each year.

And, it turns out, the calcium-rich sludge left behind is a great replacement for cement in cement kilns. The sludge is dried, compressed and shipped to a facility where it is used to make Portland cement, a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar and stucco.

By developing innovative methods like this, TMMI became a zero waste to landfill facility

in 2010 and continues to operate as such today. 

Learn more about Toyota’s environmental initiatives in the company’s latest environmental report: www.toyota.com/about/environmentreport2013/

The Oldest National park in the U.S. reuses old Toyota Camry Hybrid Batteries to Power Buildings

One of the oldest national parks in the U.S.A. is the Yellowstone Park. Toyota has donated 208 used Camry Hybrid batteries to Yellowstone National Park to power a cluster of five buildings in the wilderness. Though a couple of hundred batteries is not a lot when compared to the millions in circulation, the altruistic gesture has bigger implications: It shows what can be done with large, expensive battery packs from hybrid and electric vehicles once they’ve outlived their usefulness as a power source for automobiles.

Over time, batteries lose their capacity to hold a full charge which makes them unusable in vehicles. Most automakers warranty hybrid batteries for up to 10 years, but their true longevity is hard to nail down because it depends on many factors, such as how often they discharge and recharge their energy. Employing the used hybrid batteries in a stationary energy system like the one at Yellowstone can double their lifespan, Toyota says, at the end of which they get recycled. 

Yellowstone will create a single, stationary energy system with the 208 used nickel metal hydride batteries Toyota says that the system’s total storage capacity of 85 kilowatt-hours will be more than enough to power the five buildings that comprise the park’s Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus. The ranch facilities are used for education and research.

This is not the first time that Toyota has reused hybrid batteries for stationary power sources. The company’s dealerships in Japan have been using them for additional and backup power since 2013. Toyota’s Alabama manufacturing facility is also looking into used battery systems to help power operations and provide emergency backup.  

Not all used Toyota hybrid batteries are suitable for reuse, though. Those that aren’t get recycled.

In addition to the batteries and engineering know-how, Toyota recently donated a RAV4 and $50,000 to the Yellowstone Park, to support Lamar Buffalo Ranch sustainability project. Lamar Buffalo Ranch is one of the oldest historic areas in Yellowstone.

Toyota is Taking Big Steps to Decrease its Carbon Footmarks

Soon for the Kentuckians breathing will be easier. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, with the help from Waste Services of the Bluegrass, is converting methane from a local landfill into renewable electricity to power Toyota’s Georgetown assembly plant.

Landfill gas is comprised of both methane and carbon dioxide, in addition to varying amounts of other contaminants. With the increasing number of landfills in the United States, the effect of landfill gas on the environment can be damaging.

The local air pollution will be reduced as much as 90 percent. The project will not only provide energy to produce 10,000 vehicles each year, but it will also lead to improved air –quality. This project was scheduled for completion in early 2015.

Maybe the path to a low carbon future is one step at a time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU6_kjbbUbY

Toyota Financial Services recently celebrated its one millionth eContract, Increasing a Simpler Auto Financing Experience

TFS introduced an industry leading electronic contract (eContracting) system for its dealerships in January 2013. This lead to efficiency and the dealers are now able to send contract package information electronically – phasing out annoying paper contracts etc.

“We saw an opportunity,” said TFS President and CEO, Mike Groff. “The benefits of implementing an eContracting program were very clear from the start. With deal validation occurring immediately, the auto financing experience is simplified and significantly enhanced for both the customer and the dealer. Customers have no need to return to the dealership for follow-up items, and funding is handled immediately, improving dealership cash flow.”

This also reduces some contract errors, and improves both dealer and customer satisfaction.

TFS all-inclusive approach guarantees that all auto financing products and required documents are available. The customers are able to see step by step financing process from the dealers.

As a result of these design elements, eContracting was rapidly adopted by more than 1,300 authorized Toyota, Lexus, and Scion dealers across the nation.

“It happened much faster than we anticipated,” said Mike Wells, TFS Group Vice President of Sales, Product, and Marketing. “Our original goal of 30 percent utilization by the end of the program’s first year quickly increased to a 50 percent goal, as our field embraced the process. And by the end of that first year, we’d reached an astonishing 56 percent eContracting utilization throughout our dealerships.”
From September 2014, 65 percent of TFS are electronic, with nearly 90 percent of its dealers actively using the industry-leading process.

 
“Moving forward, we now anticipate completing over one million eContracts each year,” added Wells. “eContracting has really taken off, and the feedback from dealers and customers is very positive. We look forward to continued growth, improved dealership efficiencies, and increased customer satisfaction.”

This implementation of TFS e Contracting platform revolutionizes the auto financing process, and also changing landscape in auto industry. 

Toyota Creates a SpongeBob Themed Sienna Minivan for the LA Auto Show inspired by the movie: ‘’Sponge out of the Water’’

Three-Dimensional SpongeBob Concept Car to Take Families on an All-Wheel Drive Adventure Promotional Tour Leading Up to Feature Film’s Feb. 6, 2015 Premiere

Nickelodeon and Toyota have partnered to transform everyone’s absorbent pal into a new 3-D concept car based on Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies’ upcoming film, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.  The SpongeBob Movie 2015 Toyota Sienna features a custom three-dimensional SpongeBob SquarePants exterior, complete with the character’s Superhero Incredible mask that blows real bubbles at the top of the car.  The interior features seating inspired by each of SpongeBob’s Bikini Bottom pals, along with a wood-grain dashboard, a custom Captain’s steering wheel, a blue-sky head liner and a sand-inspired floor. 

Nickelodeon Group already has seen the popularity of "everyone's porous pal." SpongeBob, the star of the network's highest-rated animated series, has 80 million Facebook followers, says Pam Kaufman, chief marketing officer for the network.

Moreover, "post-Millennials," as the current generation of kids is being called, love spending time with their parents more than anything. Parents are hyperfocused on spending time with their kids. It's the kids who are deciding where to go on vacation and what vehicle to buy.

Toyota showed the SpongeBob Sienna at the press preview of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The concept is meant to draw attention to the upscale minivan, a vehicle segment that has been challenged by a lingering "mom jeans" image as crossovers SUVs stay in vogue.

 

Now, Toyota hopes that kids will convince their parents that minivans are cool again. “It's not kids. It's kids and families," says Jack Hollis, vice president of marketing for Toyota.
 

The minivan is meant to promote "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water." It will be the second SpongeBob theatrical adventure when it appears in February and the first in which the characters leave the depths to venture on to dry land.

“SpongeBob SquarePants continues to be at the center of pop culture, and through this promotion with our wonderful partners at Toyota, we have created his next iconic moment with a truly unique vehicle that captures all of the high-octane energy of Paramount’s highly anticipated feature film,” said Pam Kaufman, Chief Marketing Officer, Nickelodeon Group.   

“Toyota is again teaming up with SpongeBob to help him and his friends go places in a custom ride inspired by their upcoming dry land adventures,” said Jack Hollis, vice president of marketing for Toyota. “The 2015 Sienna is a perfect choice for families and superheroes alike – offering seating for up to eight and a bubble blower attachment feature to boot.”   

Special attention was paid to the inside, not just the outside. In the Sienna's latest redesign, Toyota worked extra hard to dress up the minivan's interior. Toyota wants visitors to notice the upscale materials and other touches that were put into the minivan's cabin. Each of the seats will be themed to highlight one of SpongeBob's friends.

 

For Nickelodeon, the van and its resulting multi-city tour make for a handy device to hype the movie.

"We are so psyched. It looks incredible," Kaufman said.

The SpongeBob Toyota Sienna promotion will also be supported online with a custom channel on nick.com and promoted through on-air as well as digital display advertising and social media.  Beginning Dec. 15 fans can log onto www.nick.com/toyota  to get more information on tour stops and access a gallery of images of the SpongeBob Movie vehicle.