Toyota open second R&D in Michigan

Toyota Motor Corp. officially opened its new research-and-development center south of Saline on Thursday, marking a significant expansion of its engineering and design operations in the United States.

The engineering and safety testing complex is an expansion of the existing Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor. Yasuhiko Ichihashi, one of Toyota’s senior managing directors and the former head of that facility, said it will become “one of Toyota’s key global R&D operations.”
It has to be.

About 300 workers have been moving into the buildings for the past couple of months, and the Japanese automaker expects to add another 100 jobs by 2010, with the potential for hundreds more in the future.

The new $187 million, 530,000-square-foot (49,238 sq. meter) complex supplements Toyota’s existing technical center near Ann Arbor, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Detroit. The company now employs about 1,000 workers at both complexes.

Japan’s population is aging, and it has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. According to the CIA, Japan’s population is decreasing by more than a tenth of a percent annually. That means Toyota and other Japanese carmakers will have to tap other nation’s engineering talent.

“In order to expand the automotive industry, we need human resources,” Japanese Consul-General Tamotsu Shinotsuka told The Detroit News. “Michigan has abundant human resources.”

David Cole, Chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, said Toyota’s investment proves Michigan remains a vital part of the global car business.

“It is an acknowledgment that Michigan is still the intellectual center of the world’s auto industry,” he said.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the expansion is an important piece of the state’s plan to diversify its economy, which has added high-tech jobs after losing more than 315,000 manufacturing positions since mid-2000.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC have long dominated employment in Southeast Michigan and are losing billions of dollars and shedding workers by the thousands. But despite tough times, development of next-generation vehicles will continue to be a part of the state’s economic future, Granholm said.