Toyota Deeside Plant Builds First Hybrid Engine Outside Japan

The British division of Toyota announced today it has manufactured the first 1.8-litre VVT-i petrol engine unit for the new Auris Hybrid, marking the first time that a Toyota factory outside Japan builds a hybrid vehicle engine. The Deeside plant currently has more than 500 people on site, working two shifts five days a week.

The team is building both the 1.8 engine for Auris Hybrid and Toyota’s 1.6-litre Valvematic petrol engine.

“This is the first time that a Toyota hybrid engine has been made outside Japan and we take great pride in having that opportunity,” Richard Kenworthy, TMUK General Manager Engine Manufacturing, said in a release.

Raw aluminium is smelted and cast on-site, prior to machining, assembly and testing of the finished unit. The finished engines are then shipped to Toyota’s Burnaston car plant in Derbyshire for installation.

“We build in quality at every stage and a huge element in ensuring that happens is the skill and commitment of our members,” added Kenworthy. “The people working here all take great pride in the products they make, ensuring that every engine that goes out of the door achieves the highest level of quality.”

Toyota has held training courses in hybrid vehicle manufacturing and wider environmental issues, aimed at supporting production of the new Auris Hybrid vehicle. Employees were trained in issues such as safe handling of the high voltage elements of the Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain.

The workers have also traveled to Japan and the USA to learn best practice in safety and quality from their Toyota colleagues who make Prius at Tsutsumi and in Kentucky, where the hybrid Camry is built.