Toyota to restructure Chch plant

Press, 26 February 1987, Page 1

Toyota to restructure Chch plant

By

PETER GREENSLADE

Toyota New Zealand, Ltd, is restructuring its vehicle assembly business and will build only commercial vehicles at its Buchanans Road, Sockburn, assembly plant.

It has been assembling cars at Buchanans Road for some time but in future Corollas, Coronas and Cressidas will be assembled only at its Thames plant. The Johnsonville-based company will seek up to 50 voluntary redundancies

from the workforce of 240

people at Buchanans Road. The Thames workforce will not be affected by the change. Toyota New Zealand also intends to sell I.2ha of its 6ha Sockburn site. The announcement was made by Toyota’s public

affairs manager, Mr Andy Cuming, who said that his company’s decision to make Christchurch a specialist commercial plant had been made as part of Toyota New Zealand’s plan to achieve the international competitiveness required of vehicle

assemblers under the Government’s motor industry plan. “Toyota has a long-term commitment to its local assembly operation in New Zealand and we must constantly explore ways of maximising our efficiency if we are to compete with the increasing

volume of completely built-up vehicles now coming into this country,” said Mr Cuming. To motor industry observers, the decision to switch the Sockbum plant to commercial vehicle assembly only is no surprise. Last December, the

managing director of Toyota New Zealand, Mr Bob Field, expressed concern about the marked fall in demand for passenger cars in the South Island when his firm held its annual press conference for New Zealand’s motor-

ing writers. His remarks came after an outline of new car sales in the North Island and South Island for the first ten months of 1986, which was given by Toyota New Zealand’s marketing manager, Mr Jack Wills.

From the beginning of January to the end of October last year, only 13,682 new cars were registered in the South Island compared with 56,266 in the North Island. In the previous year, 15,283 were registered in the South Island and 56,917 registered in the

North Island. In a comparison of commercial vehicle sales over the same period last year, 3076 were sold in the South Island and 13,265 were sold in the North Island. The previous year’s sales were 4841 in the South and 15,427 in the North.

At the time, Mr Field said that the costs involved in transporting cars to Wellington from Christchurch were no greater than those involved in transporting them to Wellington from Thames.

Mr Field’s big concern last December was the fall-off in demand in the relatively small South Island market. He implied that if his company did not experience an upturn in South Island sales it could lead to a shutdown of the Sockburn plant.

However, the commercial vehicle sales figures quoted by Mr Wills for the South Island represent only 18.8 per cent of the national total and on that basis alone the future of Buchanans Road as a commercial vehicle assembly plant does not look good.