Toyota shifting top engineering jobs to Ann Arbor area technical centers

Last year, Toyota celebrated the 35th anniversary of its two technical centers in the Ann Arbor area. According to a report in The Detroit News, the company has been delegating more responsibility to the engineers in those technical centers than ever before.

Toyota had previously reserved the title “chief engineer” nearly exclusively for Japanese employees, but four Michiganders in the past five years have been promoted to the “vice president” equivalent position. The technical centers in York and Ann Arbor townships are now responsible for five vehicle lines, including the RAV4 EV and Avalon, according to The News report.

The 2013 Toyota Avalon was nearly entirely designed and engineered in the Ann Arbor area and was a featured model at Toyota’s display in the 2012 North American International Auto Show.

The selection of local chief engineers was accelerated by Akio Toyoda taking over as president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp. and by the 2010 recall crisis the company faced, The News reported. Beneficiaries of the increased trust in American know-how included Toyota Sienna minivan chief engineer and University of Michigan alumnus Andrew Lund and University of Detroit graduate and Toyota Tundra and Tacoma pickup truck chief engineer Mike Sweers.

In a further display of Michigan’s importance to the Japanese auto company, Toyota’s North American CEO Osamu “Simon” Nagata announced in June that he will work out of the technical center in York Township near Saline.

• Read the full story in The Detroit News.

Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Get in touch with Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2