Toyota announced on Wednesday that the first battery electric vehicle (BEV) to be built in Europe will come from the Czech Republic. It pumps an additional €680 million into its Kolin facility to expand it for BEV production. Currently, this plant builds the Aygo X and Yaris Hybrid.
The carmaker previously indicated plans to launch nine fully electric Toyota or Lexus models in Europe by 2025 and 2026, but which one will be built at the Czech factory has not been disclosed. Strong candidates are the Toyota C‑HR+, a brand-new battery-electric compact crossover expected to arrive in Europe in late 2025, or the updated bZ4X.
Eight Toyota plants in Europe
Toyota currently operates eight plants in Europe, located across six countries: the UK, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Portugal.
UK (Burnaston, Deeside) builds cars like the Corolla hatchback and engines. In France, the Onnaing factory near Valenciennes produces Toyota Yaris, Yaris Cross, and Mazda2 Hybrid models. Two factories in Poland (Walbrzych and Jelcz‑Laskowice) are dedicated to engines and transmissions.
In Arifiye, Turkey, Toyota focuses on assembling the Corolla (including hybrids) and the C-HR (also available in HEV and PHEV variants), as well as producing plug-in hybrid batteries. Portugal produces the Land Cruiser “70” series, primarily for export.
Joint venture with PSA
The Kolin plant was built in the early 2000s as a joint venture between Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën (now part of Stellantis). The company, known as TPCA (Toyota Peugeot Citroën Automobile), produced three versions of identical small city cars for both groups: the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107/108, and Citroën C1.
In 2021, Toyota acquired full ownership of the plant, which was subsequently renamed Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic (TMMCZ). Since then, it’s been producing Toyota models only, currently the Aygo X and Yaris, including hybrid versions. Over the past two decades, more than 4.5 million vehicles were produced at Kolin.
While PSA shifted focus to slightly larger and more profitable models (like the Peugeot 208, Opel Corsa, etc.), Toyota still wanted to stay in the A-segment in Europe, where the Aygo had been successful. Toyota saw Kolin as a strategic hub for small, efficient, and now electrified cars in Europe.
€64 million from the Czech government
Toyota says its TMMCZ’s plant in Kolin will be expanded from 152,000 to 173,000 square metres to accommodate production of the new vehicle and its battery, and new paint and welding shops. The Czech government will contribute up to €64 million for a new battery assembly facility at the same site.
Toyota currently produces Aygo X crossover and Yaris Hybrid at TMMCZ at a capacity of approximately 220,000 vehicles per year with some 3,000 employees.
“The introduction of BEV production increases the potential of the plant capacity of multi-pathway production and will lead to incremental direct employment with similar benefits for the supply chain, as the majority of parts volume will be sourced in the Czech Republic,” Toyota says in a press release.
Wage gap
Talking about employment: the Czech Republic’s whole-economy hourly labour cost was around €18/hour in 2023, with only a slight increase in 2024. Automotive manufacturing here typically falls in the high‑teens €/h, often slightly above the national average.
To compare, France has among the highest hourly labour costs in the EU, due to a large share of non-wage employer contributions, which represent around 32.2% of total labour costs. Historically, this has been around €36–€37 per hour/hour compared to Germany’s €48/hour in manufacturing (2024).
