FEATURE
INSIDE THE FACTORY
WE TAKE A LOOK ROUND TOYOTA’S BURNASTON PRODUCTION PLANT Ted Welford was wowed by the quiet efficiency of this site that’s a major contributor to the UK automotive industry yet sometimes gets forgotten.
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hen it comes to UK-produced cars, it’s likely that renowned British brands such as Jaguar and Mini spring to mind first. But there are plenty of other car firms producing their vehicles in Britain, not least Nissan with its huge facilities in the north-east and Toyota with its factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire. Although the latter is sometimes a forgotten plant, it’s a major contributor to the UK automotive industry, producing 124,725 cars in 2021. For context, a total of 859,575 new cars were made in the UK last year. Now the home of European-built Toyota Corollas – it’s worth remembering this model is globally one of the most popular new cars around, and is produced elsewhere for other continents – the plant has also produced the Carina E, Avensis and Auris in the past. Opened in 1992, it’s manufactured more than 4.7m cars since and has over 3,000 employees, making it a vastly important facility to local people. And today, Car Dealer is getting a special look around the plant to coincide with the launch of the new Corolla Commercial – a van-based version of this Toyota estate car that has been specifically designed, engineered and implemented into Burnaston. For the time being, it will be sold purely in the UK, too. Protective boots at the ready, hi-vis aplenty and hard hats on, it’s time to dive in. It’s not often we get to look round a new car factory, and perhaps we’re too used to the photos of the perfectly glossy painted floors that you see at McLaren and Bentley, but it seems darker and dingier than we envisaged, almost like what I have in my head when someone mentions British Leyland. But there’s nothing British Leyland about how this plant operates, with a super-slick production process. On each car going through the factory there’s an A3 piece of paper clipped to the open bonnet of the model. To us, it looks like absolute gibberish, but to those on the production line, each symbol and code signifies a part or option that needs to be fitted. With such a broad range of trim levels on offer – from European-spec cars that don’t even get alloy wheels to flagship cars that get elements such as park-assist and a head-up display, this bit of paper is crucial in making sure a customer gets the exact car they ordered. The factory also operates an almost-random sequencing process, much to my surprise.
38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk
Almost 125,000 Corollas were produced at Burnaston in 2021
The A3 sheet of paper clipped to the bonnet ensures every car arrives as it was ordered
