Toyota Australia plans design future

Toyota Australia is confident it can retain a local design and styling presence despite the end of manufacturing in 2017.

The company has had a design division since the early 2000s, when it set up Toyota Style Australia to work on the design of the locally-manufactured Camry and Aurion.

It now goes under the name of Product Design and woks on local, regional and global projects, but with Toyota’s Altona plant now closed does not have the traditional underpinning of a local manufacturing facility.

Product Design employs 35 people and is part of Toyota Motor Corporation Australia’s Product Planning and Development Division, which has around 150 staff and also includes vehicle evaluation, regulations and accessories functions (among others). The division has grown by a third in staff over the last three years.

Ford and Holden parent General Motors have both retained substantial design and engineering facilities in Australia post local manufacturing. But not only are they bigger — Ford’s operation is heading for 2000 employees — they are owned by the global parent rather than the local subsidiary.

Product Design is owned by TMCA, not the global parent Toyota Motor Corporation, as design offices such as Calty in California are.

This month Product Design’s most significant project since the V6 Aurion will be launched; the Toyota HiLux Rugged and Rugged X, and the HiLux Rogue.

The Ruggeds are Australian-only models, while the Rogue is co-developed with Toyota Thailand – where it is known as the Rocco – and will be sold in various regions globally.

The three new top-end Toyota HiLux models were announced in January and more details were revealed this week.

Rod Ferguson, the general manager of Toyota Australia product planning and development, said the HiLux program was proof TAPD was being integrated into the global Toyota design family rather than being treated as an orphan.

“We have demonstrated to our parent in Japan we can design remotely, even on a production level project,” he said.

“We can do sketch programs and they can be done around the world, but to do a production level project that’s when the remoteness of the location really tests you out.

“We have done this one (HiLux) and we have a couple more underway, so we are trying to get around that traditional thing that engineering and manufacturing have to be right next to each other.”

Product Design projects that have previously gained public attention include the HiLux Tonka, Toyota 86 Shooting Brake and HiLux TRD Sports concepts.

The design office has the ability to produce prototypes, production programs, full show cars and accessories. It can 3D print and works with clay, composites and advanced materials.

TAPD General Manager Peter Elliott said international awareness of the small Australian operation began to develop about five years as it did more work in the region, developing limited-editions for markets including Thailand, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is now being asked to contribute ideas at a global level.

“We are standing here saying ‘yes please’, because we know we have the talent and we know we have the facilities,” Elliott said. “Basically that door opened and away we have gone.”

Importantly, Toyota’s program chief engineers – who are very powerful within the structure of vehicle development -- have become aware of TAPD’s talents.

“They are asking ‘what is TMCA Product Design’s contribution to this particular product, this line-up and this program?’ rather than just going to the voice of the customer research.

“We are working on updates through to full model-change platform-up.”

Elliott revealed TMCA PD recently tied for the win on a new global model exterior design pitch.

“Some of what you will see in that product is our penmanship. Then there have been other products where we have been asked to design elements of a vehicle and bring it through to production.”

Significantly, Toyota Australia was able to proceed with the HiLux Rugged models after gaining the go-ahead to develop them from the HiLux chief engineer in Japan.

“I literally went to Japan with a series of sketches, rolled them up and took them next to me on the plane,” revealed Ferguson.

“We went over there and presented a case study and images to the chief engineer of HiLux and that was the way we got this one up and going. So I effectively got his support to do this on a wider level.

“As you can appreciate, we have done a lot of work on these cars but we can’t be vigilante, we can’t just take one of Toyotas car’s and modify it. We do need Toyota’s support and that’s how we got it in this case.”

Ferguson said he expected HiLux Rugged models to eventually go on sale in other markets.

“At this moment, it hasn’t been taken up by other regions for various reasons,” he said.

“For example, some markets are literally not allowed to put a steel bar on the front of their car, so there were a few areas from a regulatory point of view that were restricted.

“So, we have started off in Australia, but we have had requests for kits of parts and that might expand wider.

“We will launch this car … and then the world is really going to see it.”