Production
Second-generation Tundra production was initially split between TMMTX in San Antonio and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana in Princeton, Indiana (which had produced the first generation Tundra). The Base Cab (2 door) and Double Cab (2 full doors and 2 small doors) pickups were produced in San Antonio, with additional Double Cab Tundras and all CrewMax pickups produced in Princeton. The Tundra was initially hailed as a revolutionary step forward for Toyota Trucks, winning the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award in 2008; however the vehicle's reputation was marred by a recall of 15,000 units due to a mistake made by a supplier of a rear propeller shaft. This initial problem aside, the 2007 model year Tundra was a success with sales in 2007 almost selling out annual production of 200,000 units. The surge in oil prices driven by the commodity boom in 2008 put significant pressure on sales of the truck, and Toyota sold just under 140,000 Tundras the following year.
As the economic downturn put pressure on the US auto market, combined with the high fuel prices of the mid-2008, vehicle sales tumbled in late 2008 to the extent that Toyota shut down production at TMMTX for a three-month period to reduce inventory of the Tundra pickup.
In late 2008, Toyota announced that all Tundra production would be moved to TMMTX (ending Tundra production in Princeton, Indiana). This announcement effectively preserved the jobs of the 1,850 workers at TMMTX that were threatened by the ongoing financial crisis. Following the bankruptcy announcement of partner General Motors (who subsequently withdrew from the venture), Toyota announced it would be terminating Corolla and Tacoma production at the NUMMI assembly plant. This change ultimately proved to benefit TMMTX, as Tacoma production was announced to be relocating to TMMTX, resulting in the addition of up to 1,000 workers to support the added production. This change effectively moved all of Toyota's US pickup production to TMMTX for the foreseeable future.
Read more about this topic: Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas
Famous quotes containing the word production:
“The production of obscurity in Paris compares to the production of motor cars in Detroit in the great period of American industry.”
—Ernest Gellner (b. 1925)
“Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)
“... if the production of any commodity necessitates the sacrifice of human life, society should do without that commodity, but it can not do without that life.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)