Toyota announced today that cumulative production at its manufacturing plant in Turkey reached one-million vehicles. The milestone that coincides with the start of production of Toyota’s third generation Verso MPV, at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey (TMMT), comes 15 years after the plant produced its first car in 1994. The plant today employs some 3,000 workers and includes the production of the Auris, as well as Verso, in its production portfolio.

The Japanese firm’s Turkish plant will support a full-year European sales target of 55,000 units of the new Verso that will go on sale this April.

Speaking ahead of the celebrative event, Hiroyuki Ochiai, Executive Vice-President of TME said: “Toyota’s operations in Europe have benefited from an extremely rewarding partnership with Turkey. Thanks to the commitment of a highly-skilled local workforce, Toyota is now one of Turkey’s biggest automotive exporters. This is a great achievement, and particularly significant in light of current, tough market conditions.”