Toyota Indonesia begins production of all-new Innova

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indonesia (TMMIN) has begun production of the all-new Innova. It held a line-off ceremony held two days ago at its plant in Karawang.

The ceremony was attended by Indonesian Minister of Industry Saleh Husin, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Executive Vice President Seiichi Sudo, PT. Toyota-Astra Motor (TAM) President Director Hiroyuki Fikui, TMMIN President Director Masahiro Nonami, and TMMIN Vice President Director Warih Andang Tjahjono. TMMIN's Karawang Plant 1 is the first plant in the world to start production of the all-new Innova.

"This celebration would not be possible without the cooperation from our partner TAM, local suppliers, dealers, and many more as well as the tremendous support from the government and people of Indonesia," said president director Nonami.

The all-new Innova boasts a local content ratio of 85 percent, achieved by steadily increasing involvement by both Toyota Indonesia and local suppliers. Sixteen new local suppliers have been added due for production of the new model, increasing the number of TMMIN's first-tier local suppliers to 123 companies. Investment to produce the new model amounted to five trillion Indonesian rupiah.

TMMIN has been focusing on developing close relationships with local suppliers in order to maintain quality and ensure continuous growth by meeting the needs of customers. The company is making concerted efforts to encourage supplier development, with emphasis on skill transfer, safety, quality and efficiency. These efforts to transfer knowledge and experience to first-tier suppliers are expected to produce positive effects throughout the supply chain.

In his speech, Executive Vice President Sudo looked back on Toyota's history of producing vehicles for export in Indonesia: "When we undertook the IMV project in 2004, we decided that our Indonesian operations should play a core role in the project. I believe that our decision was not misplaced, as Toyota Indonesia has again and again proved their capability."

The Innova's predecessor, the Kijang, was the first Completely Built Up (CBU) vehicle exported by Toyota Indonesia in 1987, starting with an annual volume of approximately 500 units to countries in Asia-Pacific region. Now, the Innova is a key export product for Toyota Indonesia, reaching an average of 16,000 units exported annually in the past five years to countries in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, and Caribbean regions. Last year, exports of CBU Toyota vehicles from Indonesia reached a cumulative 160,000 units, accounting for more than 80% of total vehicle exports from the country. TMMIN has also exported more than 45,000 gasoline engines a year over the past five years.

New Innova in India next year
The new Innova is expected to come to India next year. However, there is no official confirmation yet on whether the MPV will be showcased at the upcoming Auto Expo 2016.