We were key players along with Derby City Council and South Derbyshire District Council in attracting the car manufacturing giant to the county, which brought thousands of jobs to the area and remains one of the region's most significant employers. Derbyshire and Toyota City work together for mutual benefit in the areas of economy, environment, education, culture, and sport.
A partnership board has been established to further develop the relationship between the 2 regions, members include:
- Derbyshire County Council
- Derby City Council
- South Derbyshire District Council
- Toyota City Council
- TMUK
- East Midlands Chamber of Commerce
- University of Derby
- Burton & South Derbyshire College
- Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire
- The National Forest
- Derby College
- Derby County Football Club
Aims and objectives of the Toyota City Partnership Board:
- development of the Toyota City Partnership through an agreed programme of activity
- bring together key economic and cultural stakeholders to work alongside the 3 councils
- support the development of exchange programmes between Toyota and Derbyshire, including civic, officer, project, business and education related activity
- consider and develop relevant new initiatives to enhance the partnership focusing primarily on economic development, tourism and the environment
- lead the development of new sporting links
- seek new methods of resourcing the partnership through commercial sponsorship, grant funding
- act as a figurehead body for Derbyshire in establishing strong working relationships with HM Government in light of the Japan-UK Joint Vision Statement
- act as figurehead for representation of the region in Japan through the Japanese Embassy and Japan Local Government Centre
Things you may not know about Toyota City
The city is located in the centre of Aichi Prefecture, on the largest of Japan's 4 islands - Honshu.
It is famed as 'automobile city' but it's also blessed with an abundance of nature, history and culture.
It was once a main producer of silk but as demand declined after 1930, Kiichiro Toyoda started to look at alternatives to the family's automatic loom manufacturing business. This led to the founding of the Toyota Motor Corporation.
Toyota City used to be called Koromo City, but due to the fame and economic importance of its major employer, Toyota, the city was renamed Toyota in 1959. The company was named after the founding Toyoda family.