UMW Toyota hosts Japan’s former PM Shinzo Abe

KUALA LUMPUR: UMW Toyota Motor hosted a very special guest over the weekend, the former Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, and his delegates. Together they visited Toyota’s manufacturing facility in Bukit Raja and took an overview of the operations. 

Abe was on his tour to Malaysia for a special government envoy of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Japan, and the 40 years of the Look East Policy.

While considering Abe’s visit to the factory timely and extremely valuable, Ravindran K, President of UMW Toyota Motor stated, “We are honoured to host former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at our UMW Toyota Motor manufacturing plant in Bukit Raja. His visit is extremely valuable to us and timely, as he was able to witness for himself the exciting transformation of Malaysia’s automotive sector towards sustainable mobility through the introduction of Toyota’s Hybrid Electric Technology,  which is an essential step to quickly propel Malaysia towards the goal of Carbon Neutrality.  Along with our partners in Malaysia and Toyota Group Companies, Toyota will continue to take a leadership role to contribute to the development of the Malaysian automotive  industry, as well as developing human resources and the environment towards fostering a  sustainable society.”

The company’s efforts for reducing the carbon footprint are aligned with the country’s vision to be a progressive nation with the promotion of green technology and environmental sustainability. At the start of this year, UMW Toyota introduced the hybrid electric version of the Corolla Cross as its first locally-manufactured Hybrid  Electric car with the Toyota New Global Architecture as the base. 

Also read: All-new Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid Electric: Everything you need to know

Speaking about the Toyota Bukit Raja facility, the plant is built with an investment of RM 2 billion on top of RM 270 million spent on operations. It incorporates all the latest, advanced and efficient innovative technologies and is capable of manufacturing 50,000 cars annually. These include the Toyota Vios, Yaris, Corolla Cross, as well as the Corolla Cross Hybrid Electric. Overall, the factory is well-positioned at the forefront of Malaysia’s aspiration to become an automotive hub in Energy Efficient Vehicles.   

Also read: All-new Toyota GR 86 Malaysian launch confirmed