Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) is the holding company for Toyota's automobile manufacturing and research and development operations in North America. Although the company still exists for legal purposes, the company is operated as part of Toyota Motor North America.
TEMA was formed in April 2006 as the result of a merger of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) and Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A. (TTC). As part of the "One Toyota" initiative, TEMA merged with Toyota Motor Sales, USA (TMS) and Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA), which controlled Toyota's corporate functions, to form Toyota Motor North America. While the three companies continue to exist in legal name, they operate as one company.
History
Toyota's first manufacturing investment in the United States came in 1972 when the company struck a deal with Atlas Fabricators, to produce truck beds in Long Beach, California. The partnership was successful and two years later, Toyota purchased Atlas and renamed it Toyota Auto Body California (TABC) as part of its Toyota Auto Body manufacturing subsidiary.[1]