Toyota Has New President in Mexico

Effective on August 3, Luis Lozano, current Senior Director of Foreign Affairs, will serve as President of Toyota Motor de México, replacing Mike Bafan. "These changes will contribute to the efficiency and institutional presence of the company in the country," said Toyota on a statement. 

"We welcome Luis to this new position, who has proven to be a respected leader by the industry, as well as its commitment and passion for Toyota," said Chris Reynolds, Chief Administrative Officer for Manufacturing Operations of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA).

Lozano's trajectory in Toyota goes back to 2005. Throughout his years in the company, he has managed regulatory and governmental affairs, compliance, foreign trade, communication and corporate social responsibility for Toyota sales and manufacturing. Lozano was also the company's representative to the Mexican Association of the Automotive Industry (AMIA). Tom Sullivan will remain President of Toyota Motor Sales y Lexus de México, working with Toyota's dealership network. 

Toyota México is the fourth-largest OEM in terms of sales, the seventh in terms of exports and the eighth-largest in terms of production. The company has 17 years of history in Mexico and has two production facilities. Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California (TMMBC) started operations in September 2004 and has focused mostly on the Tacoma model, but also on Yaris-R. In December 2019, Toyota inaugurated its second production facility, also focused on Tacoma, in Apaseo el Grande, Guanajuato (TMMGT).

“Toyota is contributing to create jobs and to the country's development. The plant has state-of-the art innovation technology to manufacture Tacoma, a high-quality vehicle,” said Juan Francisco García, President of TMMGT on a statement.

Over the last five years, Toyota has increased its production 83 percent, going from 104,810 units produced in 2015 to 191,131 units in 2019. The TMMGT project started in 2016 with a US$700 million investment and the goal to produce 100,000 units a year. If the company manages to ramp up operations, by the end of 2020, Toyota could become the fifth-largest producer in Mexico, overtaking Kia’s 286,600 produced units in 2019 and behind Volkswagen’s 443,414 units.

Despite the landscape for the automotive industry in 2019, Toyota consolidated its place as the fourth-largest seller in the country, with a total of 105,663 vehicles sold. The company is also leader in the hybrid segment, selling around 16,980 hybrid units in 2019 or 16 percent of the company’s total sales.