Testbed Hotbed

It may be the birthplace of the Big Three, but southeastern Michigan increasingly is playing host to the Asian auto makers as well.

A trio of recent announcements — by Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. and Suzuki Motor Corp. — amount to significant investment in the Ann Arbor area.

Toyota's effort, a production design center, aims to make North American concept cars production-ready, while Hyundai and Suzuki plan to expand their research and development capabilities.

A prime role of the new R&D facilities is that of a testing venue, to ready Asia-developed vehicles for conformity to U.S. rules and regulations.

The new facilities tie into an official state effort to recruit more jobs to the area. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm in September pitched her state as a leader in high-tech industries at the Midwest U.S. Japan Conference.

Already an industry leader in vehicle development time, Toyota says its new initiative manages to streamline the process even further. The auto maker's U.S. design headquarters, Calty Design Research Inc., is opening a production-design studio, including a clay-modeling studio, across the street from Toyota Technical Center USA Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI.

The facility only will employ four designers when it opens its doors next year, but its impact will be significant. The new Calty branch for the first time will allow Toyota to go from concept to production to market all in the U.S., Kevin Hunter, Calty vice president, says at an Automotive Press Assn. event at Detroit's College for Creative Studies. In the past, Toyota's production design work was done in Japan.

Its studio will sport fullsize clay-modeling capability, advanced computer-design equipment, a virtual-presentation center and a viewing courtyard.

Proximity to TTC, where the auto maker executes detailed product engineering, evaluation and prototyping for the North American market, will shave weeks off the development process, says Edward Mantey, vice president-engineering design at TTC.

“The result will be a highly unified national design effort that will help Toyota, Lexus and Scion create vehicles that appeal even more to American tastes and needs,” Hunter says.

This goal falls in lockstep with a new design direction from Toyota's North American studios, as the auto maker aims to combat its ultraconservative image.

“I think things are changing,” Hunter says. “We need to adjust to the times. We do feel the need to step it up a notch in terms of our expressiveness.”

The changes may include seeing some Toyota segments — such as sedans — getting more of a “family” look.

Meantime, Hyundai America Technical Center Inc. will relocate and expand its new headquarters to Superior Twp., MI, near Ann Arbor. It currently is located in nearby Pittsfield Twp. and is staffed by 41 employees.

The expansion represents a $117 million investment in the 2-phase project. The facility will be 168,000 sq.-ft. (15,608 sq.-m) and is expected to create 85 jobs within the first year. Projections say it will create 751 new jobs by 2024, 400 directly by the company.

Hyundai chose Michigan over Alabama, where it is constructing a manufacturing facility, in part because of a high-tech Single Business Tax credit worth some $22 million over a 12-year period — part of a state initiative to make Michigan the world's top automotive R&D center. Superior Twp. also offered a tax abatement for the project, worth $6.4 million over 12 years.

Suzuki recently opened its Suzuki Tech Center not too far away from Toyota's and Hyundai's, in Wixom, MI. The $3.7 million, 1.5-acre (0.6-ha), 19,000-sq.-ft. (1,765-sq.-m) R&D facility is representative of a strengthened commitment to making the U.S. market a top priority and for keeping closer tabs on American automotive tastes, Suzuki says.

The move was timed to support Suzuki's U.S. expansion plans, which call for tripling automotive sales by 2007 through the introduction of nine new models. The first two — the Verona midsize sedan and Forenza compact — are due this fall.