Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America
Corporate brand
UnclaimedToyota's North American engineering, research, and vehicle-manufacturing holding company, now operated within Toyota Motor North America.
Last updated August 24, 2026
Overview
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, commonly known as TEMA, is the Toyota organization created to coordinate the company's vehicle engineering, research and development, and manufacturing activities in North America. It was formed in April 2006 through the combination of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America and Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A. The combination brought production oversight and vehicle-development capabilities into one regional entity, reflecting Toyota's effort to deepen local engineering and manufacturing rather than treating North America solely as an export market. TEMA's roots extend back to Toyota's first substantial manufacturing investments in the United States. In 1972, Toyota entered an arrangement with Atlas Fabricators in Long Beach, California, to produce truck beds. Toyota acquired Atlas two years later and renamed it Toyota Auto Body California, establishing an early local manufacturing base. In 1977, Toyota created Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., in the Ann Arbor area of Michigan. The engineering subsidiary supported vehicle design, testing, adaptation, and research for products intended for the North American market. A major turning point came in 1984, when Toyota and General Motors established New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., or NUMMI, in Fremont, California. The joint venture assembled the Toyota Corolla and became the first facility to build a Toyota vehicle in the United States. NUMMI provided Toyota with practical experience in North American production, labor relations, supplier coordination, and the application of the Toyota Production System in a U.S. setting. Toyota subsequently used that experience while establishing wholly owned manufacturing operations, including Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada in 1986. As Toyota expanded its regional manufacturing footprint, it created Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America in Erlanger, Kentucky, in 1996. This subsidiary served as an umbrella organization for Toyota's North American manufacturing operations. Its merger with Toyota Technical Center in 2006 produced TEMA, whose remit covered both industrial operations and engineering functions. This structure supported closer coordination between vehicle development, production engineering, plant operations, and the regional supply base. TEMA was later incorporated into Toyota's broader One Toyota organizational structure. In July 2017, it merged operationally with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Toyota Motor North America, the entity responsible for corporate functions, to form the integrated Toyota Motor North America organization. The three companies continued to exist as legal entities, but their activities were managed as one company from a common headquarters campus in Plano, Texas. Consequently, TEMA remains legally identifiable but is not generally presented as a standalone operating company in Toyota's current North American structure. Toyota's engineering and manufacturing capabilities continue to be distributed across North America. The company maintains research and design operations in Michigan, while a Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center opened in Georgetown, Kentucky, in October 2017. The center was intended to connect vehicle design with factory implementation and manufacturing processes. TEMA is therefore best understood as a historical and legal platform within Toyota's regional operating model, rather than as a consumer-facing vehicle marque. Its significance lies in the localization of Toyota's product development and production capabilities across the North American automotive industry.
History
Toyota's North American engineering and manufacturing organization developed gradually through a series of investments, partnerships, and reorganizations. The earliest cited manufacturing step occurred in 1972, when Toyota reached an agreement with Atlas Fabricators in Long Beach, California, to produce truck beds. Toyota purchased Atlas in 1974 and renamed the operation Toyota Auto Body California, giving the company an early local production presence. In June 1977, Toyota established Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., near Ann Arbor, Michigan. The center supplied engineering, research, design, and testing capabilities for vehicles intended for the North American market. Establishing a technical organization in the Detroit-area automotive corridor allowed Toyota to build local knowledge of customer requirements, regulations, vehicle engineering, and supplier practices. Toyota expanded its manufacturing experience through NUMMI, a joint venture created with General Motors in 1984 at the former Fremont, California, facility. The plant assembled the Toyota Corolla and represented the first production of a Toyota vehicle in the United States. The venture gave Toyota experience applying its production methods in a U.S. industrial environment and helped inform later decisions about wholly owned plants. In 1986, Toyota established Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. These facilities formed part of a broader move toward regional production. As additional facilities were planned during the 1990s, Toyota created Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America in Erlanger, Kentucky, in 1996. This subsidiary was intended to oversee the company's North American manufacturing activities. Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America merged with Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., in April 2006. The resulting company, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, combined manufacturing management with engineering and research functions. The structure reflected Toyota's increasingly integrated North American operations, in which vehicle development, production engineering, plant operations, and local supplier networks were closely linked. The next major reorganization occurred under Toyota's One Toyota initiative. In July 2017, TEMA merged operationally with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Toyota Motor North America, which had held Toyota's corporate functions in the region. The resulting Toyota Motor North America organization operated the businesses together from a headquarters campus in Plano, Texas. Although TEMA, TMS, and TMA continued to exist in legal form, they no longer functioned as fully separate operating organizations. Toyota continued to maintain engineering and design activity in Michigan after the 2017 restructuring. In October 2017, it opened a Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center in Georgetown, Kentucky. The center served as an interface between vehicle design and manufacturing, supporting the transfer of product concepts into production processes. TEMA's history consequently represents the consolidation of Toyota's North American production and technical capabilities, followed by their integration into Toyota Motor North America's unified regional structure.
- 2017
TEMA joins the One Toyota operating structure
[1]TEMA merged operationally with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Toyota Motor North America to create an integrated Toyota Motor North America organization.
- 2017
Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center opens in Kentucky
[1]Toyota opened a Kentucky center intended to connect engineering and manufacturing activities.
- 2006
TEMA is formed
[1]Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America and Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A. merged to form Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America.
- 1996
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America is created
[1]Toyota formed a Kentucky-based subsidiary to oversee its North American manufacturing operations.
- 1986
Wholly owned Canadian and Kentucky manufacturing operations are established
[1]Toyota established Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada as it expanded its regional production base.
- 1984
NUMMI begins Toyota vehicle production in the United States
[1]Toyota and General Motors established NUMMI in Fremont, California, where the Toyota Corolla became the first Toyota vehicle assembled in the United States.
- 1977
Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A. is established
[1]Toyota created an engineering, research, and development subsidiary near Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- 1974
Atlas operation becomes Toyota Auto Body California
[1]Toyota purchased Atlas Fabricators and renamed the operation Toyota Auto Body California.
- 1972
Toyota begins U.S. manufacturing activity through Atlas Fabricators
[1]Toyota entered an arrangement with Atlas Fabricators in Long Beach, California, to produce truck beds, marking an early step in its North American manufacturing presence.
Products and positioning
An internal regional engineering and manufacturing organization focused on localizing Toyota vehicle development, production, and manufacturing know-how in North America.
Passenger vehicles and automotive products
Toyota automobiles
TEMA was not a consumer vehicle marque and did not independently sell a branded model range. Its manufacturing and engineering remit supported Toyota vehicles produced or developed for the North American market. The historical record specifically identifies the Toyota Corolla assembled through NUMMI as the first Toyota vehicle built in the United States. Later North American facilities expanded Toyota's ability to manufacture vehicles regionally, while engineering centers adapted products to local requirements.
Engineering and manufacturing services · 2006
Automotive engineering and production engineering
TEMA combined Toyota's North American vehicle research, design, testing, manufacturing oversight, and production-engineering capabilities. Its activities included coordinating the transition from vehicle design to factory production and supporting the application of Toyota manufacturing methods across regional plants. These capabilities were organizational services rather than products sold to external customers.
Brand decisions
2017
Implement the One Toyota operating modelStrategyBackground
Toyota sought to integrate sales, corporate, engineering, and manufacturing activities within one North American organization.
Action taken
TEMA was combined operationally with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Toyota Motor North America, with the businesses operating together from Plano, Texas.
Aftermath
The predecessor companies remained legal entities, but TEMA ceased to operate as a fully separate regional business.
2006
Combine manufacturing and technical operations into TEMAM&ABackground
Toyota had developed separate North American manufacturing and technical organizations as its regional production footprint grew.
Action taken
Toyota merged Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America with Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., creating Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America.
Aftermath
The new entity provided a single structure for coordinating North American manufacturing and engineering activities.
Recent events
- 2017
Toyota implements the One Toyota structure in North America[1]
M&A
TEMA, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, and Toyota Motor North America were combined operationally to form Toyota Motor North America, while the predecessor companies remained legal entities.
- 2017
Toyota opens Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center in Kentucky[1]
Other
Toyota opened a Kentucky center designed to connect vehicle design, production engineering, and manufacturing operations in North America.
- 2006
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America is formed[1]
M&A
Toyota created TEMA by merging Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America with Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., combining regional manufacturing oversight with engineering and research capabilities.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/toyota-motor-engineering-and-manufacturing-north-america · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled