Alabama and Huntsville area leaders joined Toyota officials and team members today for a celebration marking the production of the first V6 engine at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama (TMMAL).

TMMAL now employs more than 500 team members and has the capacity to produce 120,000 V8 and 130,000 V6 engines annually. An expansion underway to increase V8 production will further boost employment to 800 and total investment to nearly a half billion dollars by 2006.

TMMAL, which opened in May 2003, supplies V8 engines for the Tundra full- size pickup and Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle produced in Indiana. The V6 engines will be used for Tacoma pickup trucks made in Fremont, California and Baja California, Mexico as well as the Tundra. TMMAL will also provide V8 and V6 engines for a Tundra plant opening next year in San Antonio, Texas.

As part of the celebration, Toyota donated $50,000 to Junior Achievement for education programs and $50,000 to The Land Trust for environmental activities.

Toyota Motor Corporation Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada addressed the plant's team members and thanked them for their talent and work ethic.

By 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build 1.81 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines, and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America. The company's direct employment is 38,000 and direct investment is nearly $16.3 billion with annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totaling nearly $25 billion. Toyota's North American-produced vehicles include the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, and the Lexus RX330.