Toyota’s new Auris production line to secure 3,000 jobs

Japanese car maker Toyota is to build the new Auris hatchback at its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire and most of its engines at its Deeside factory, safeguarding more than 3,000 jobs across both sites.

This follows the investment by the company of £240m upgrading the Burnaston facility a year ago.

The move may allay some fears that the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and potential export tariffs would disrupt Toyota’s mainly European supply chain.

Reacting to the news Stuart Apperley, director and head of UK Automotive at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “This is great news for the supply chain as well as the workers at Toyota’s sites in Burnaston and Deeside.

“A major commitment like this demonstrates the depth of skills that we have in the UK automotive industry and is a real reward for having some of the most productive car-building facilities around.

“It also couldn’t have come at a better time. New industry figures published this week show that investment in the UK automotive sector has fallen sharply over the past two years as manufacturers wrestle with continued uncertainty with what the industry might look like post-Brexit.

“While the continued increase in car sales across the continent – buoyed by economic stability – has been positive, this decision gives Toyota’s two plants, and the whole supply chain that feeds them, a degree of certainty that they haven’t had in recent months.”