Toyota’s Derbyshire-based manufacturing plant is set to receive a major boost in the form of £240 million in investment.

The automaker has committed to its Burnaston location by announcing the new funding, which will be used to upgrade technology and equipment at the site as well as for training and research and development.

Making the site more environmentally friendly will also be a focus for the firm in the coming months, it revealed. Up to £21.3 million will also be provided by the UK government to support the new developments.

President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe Dr Johan van Zyl commented: “We are very focused on securing the global competitiveness of our European plants.”

Last year the plant in Burnaston produced 180,000 vehicles. It also employs 2,500 people at present.

Toyota is not the first manufacturer to display confidence in the UK market, with Tata Steel investing in the UK’s largest robotic welding line earlier this year.

Based in the West Midlands this facility is capable of welding over 1,000 car parts per hour and is the fastest and most efficient such production line in the country.

Chief executive of the company’s UK operations Bimlendra Jha explained that this investment ensured the firm could remain at the “leading edge of automotive steel supply” in the UK.

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