View source for NUMMI

{{Short description|Former American automaker based in Fremont, California}}
{{about|the car factory|other uses|Nummi (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox company
| name = New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI)
| logo = NUMMI logo.jpg
| type = [[Joint venture]]
| image = NUMMIplantMissionPeakPanorama 3199.jpg
| fate = Dissolved
| predecessor = GM [[Fremont Assembly]] (1960–1982)
| foundation = {{Start date|1984|12}}
| defunct = {{end date|2010|04|1}}
| hq_location_city = [[Fremont, California]]
| hq_location_country = United States
| industry = [[Automotive industry|Automotive]]
| products = Compact cars and trucks
| production = 428,633 vehicles
| production_year = 2006
| services = [[Automotive manufacturing]]
| owner = [[General Motors]] and [[Toyota]]
| num_employees = 5,500
| num_employees_year = 2006
| homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20071024114845/http://www.nummi.com/ nummi.com] (defunct)
| footnotes = 
}}
'''New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.''' ('''NUMMI''') was an American [[automobile manufacturing]] company in [[Fremont, California]], jointly owned by [[General Motors]] and [[Toyota]], that opened in 1984 and closed in April 2010. The plant is located in the East Industrial area of Fremont next to the [[Mud Slough]] between [[Interstate 880 (California)|Interstate 880]] and [[Interstate 680 (California)|Interstate 680]], the plant's peak production year was 2006, when it manufactured 428,633 vehicles.

After the plant was closed by its owners, the facility was sold to [[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]] and reopened in October 2010, becoming known as the [[Tesla Fremont Factory]].

== History ==

===Background===

Before NUMMI, the site was the former [[Fremont Assembly]] that [[General Motors]] operated between 1962 and 1982.<ref name="mullfre">{{cite news|date=March 9, 1982|title=GM, Toyota mull joint U.S. venture|page=5A |work=Eugene Register-Guard|agency=wire services|location=(Oregon)|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GcVYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XukDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5580%2C1836777}}</ref><ref name="plftj">{{cite news|date=February 28, 1983|title=Union auto workers pledge fight to get jobs at GM-Toyota plant|page=6B |work=Eugene Register-Guard|agency=Associated Press|location=(Oregon)|url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dPVVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6679%2C6495249}}</ref><ref name="timeline">{{Cite web |title=NUMMI Milestones |url=http://www.nummi.com/timeline.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402121111/http://www.nummi.com/timeline.php |archive-date=April 2, 2010 |access-date=November 30, 2013 |publisher=NUMMI}}</ref> Employees at the Fremont plant<ref>{{cite web|title=GM Nummi Plant|url=http://www.autointell.com/nao_companies/general_motors/gm-manufacturing/gm-nummi/gmnummi.htm |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030009/http://www.autointell.com/nao_companies/general_motors/gm-manufacturing/gm-nummi/gmnummi.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date=November 9, 2016|df=mdy}}</ref> were "considered the worst workforce in the automobile industry in the United States," according to a later recounting by a leader of the workers' own union, the [[United Auto Workers]] (UAW).<ref name="atc2010">{{cite web|last=Langfitt |first= Frank |date=March 26, 2010|title=The End Of The Line For GM-Toyota Joint Venture|url=http://ww.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=125229157 |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160423033037/http://ww.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=125229157 |archive-date=April 23, 2016|access-date=April 7, 2010|work=[[All Things Considered]]|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="Langfitt 2015">{{Cite news |last=Langfitt |first=Frank |date=July 17, 2015 |title=NUMMI (2015), Transcript |work=[[This American Life]] |url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/561/transcript |url-status=live |access-date=November 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619060428/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/561/transcript |archive-date=June 19, 2016}}</ref>

GM as a company was [[Departmentalization|departmentalized]] (design, manufacturing) as per [[Henry Ford]]'s [[Division of labour|division of labor]], but without the necessary communication and collaboration between the departments. There was an adversarial relationship between workers and plant supervisors, with management not considering the employees' view on production, and quantity was preferred over quality.<ref name="Langfitt 2015" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Urbance|first=Randy |title=ESD.83 Book Review of The Machine that Changed the World|url=http://web.mit.edu/esd.83/www/notebook/machine.pdf |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Roos|first1=Daniel |title=The Machine That Changed the World : The Story of Lean Production|last2=Womack|first2=James P.|last3=Jones|first3=Daniel T|date=November 1991|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0060974176}}</ref> Like all American car plants, the production lines at Fremont seldom stopped, and when mistakes were made, cars continued down the line with the expectation that they would be fixed later.<ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> By the early 1980s, the adversarial relationship had deteriorated to the point where employees drank alcohol, smoked marijuana (at the time, an illegal activity), were frequently absent (enough so that the production line could not be started), and even committed petty acts of sabotage such as putting "Coke bottles inside the door panels, so they'd rattle and annoy the customer."<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" />

Attempts to discipline workers were often met with grievances or even strikes, putting the plant into near-continuous chaos. By 1982, GM had had enough and closed Fremont Assembly and laid off its thousands of workers.<ref name="Langfitt 2015" />

===Transforming Fremont Assembly into NUMMI===
At about the same time, GM was struggling to profitably build high-quality and fuel-efficient small cars that consumers demanded after the [[1970s energy crisis|energy crisis of the 1970s]]. Consumers started turning to foreign automakers for these vehicles, prompting the U.S. Congress to consider import restrictions to protect the domestic auto industry.<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> That led GM and Toyota to team up and create New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI), a [[joint venture]] to manufacture vehicles to be sold under both brands.<ref name="timeline" />

GM saw the joint venture as a way to get access to quality small cars<ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> and an opportunity to learn about the [[Toyota Production System]] and [[The Toyota Way]], a series of [[lean manufacturing]] and management philosophies that had made the company a leader in the automotive manufacturing and production industry.<ref>Brian Bremner, B. and C. Dawson (November 17, 2003). [https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2003-11-16/can-anything-stop-toyota "Can Anything Stop Toyota?: An inside look at how it's reinventing the auto industry"]. ''Business Week.''</ref> For Toyota, the factory gave the company its first manufacturing base in North America allowing it to avoid tariffs on imported vehicles<ref>{{cite web|date=2012|title=Global Website - 75 Years of Toyota - Section 3. Local Production Starts in North America - Item 2. Joint Venture with GM|url=http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/leaping_forward_as_a_global_corporation/chapter1/section3/item2.html |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160330153224/http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/leaping_forward_as_a_global_corporation/chapter1/section3/item2.html |archive-date=March 30, 2016|access-date=October 10, 2016|publisher=Toyota|df=mdy}}</ref> and saw GM as a partner that could show them how to navigate the American labor environment, particularly relations with the [[United Auto Workers]] union.<ref name="Adler 1992">{{Cite report |url=https://msbfile03.usc.edu/digitalmeasures/padler/intellcont/NUMMI%28ROB%29-1.pdf |title=The 'Learning Bureaucracy': New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. |last=Adler |first=Paul S. |date=April 1992 |publisher=School of Business Administration, [[University of Southern California]] |access-date=2021-06-30}}</ref>{{rp|4,10}}<ref name="Adler 1995">{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Paul S. |date=January 1995 |title=Democratic Taylorism: The Toyota Production System at NUMMI |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245862516 |access-date=October 10, 2016 |website=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref name="Langfitt 2015" />

The companies made the unusual choice to remake the troubled Fremont Assembly into the new NUMMI plant. The leadership of the UAW union insisted on re-hiring the same union leadership that had overseen GM's worst workforce. GM was against it, but Toyota agreed, believing that their system could turn things around. However, Toyota insisted that the plant would need to operate differently and old seniority rules would not apply. The workers hated the proposed changes, but desperately needed jobs. Ultimately, over 85% of NUMMI's initial workforce were the workers laid off at Fremont Assembly in 1982.<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|11–12}} GM would also assign 16 managers to the plant and Toyota sent 30 managers and production coordinators from Japan, including the CEO, [[Tatsuro Toyoda]], part of the company's founding family.<ref name="Adler 1993">{{Cite journal |last=Adler |first=Paul S. |date=January 1993 |title=Time-and-Motion Regained |url=https://hbr.org/1993/01/time-and-motion-regained |access-date=July 9, 2017 |journal=[[Harvard Business Review]] |location=US}}</ref>

Ahead of the reopening of the plant, Toyota sent many of the workers to [[Takaoka plant|Toyota's Takaoka plant in Japan]]<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|9}} to learn the [[Toyota Production System]] and actually work for a few days on the assembly line.<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> Workers who made the transition identified the emphasis on quality and teamwork by Toyota management as what motivated a change in work ethic.<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> Among the cultural changes were the same uniform, parking and cafeterias for all levels of employment in order to promote a team concept, and a no-[[layoff]] policy.<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|14,16,33}} [[Autonomation|Built-in process quality]] and employee suggestion programs for [[continual improvement process|continual improvement]]<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|33}} were other changes.<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|18}} [[Consensus decision-making]] reached management level, in contrast with the old [[departmentalization]].<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|20}}

By December 1984 (two years after the closure of Fremont Assembly), NUMMI's first car, a yellow [[Chevrolet Nova#Fifth generation (1985–1988)|Chevrolet Nova]], rolled off the assembly line. The plant started producing the Toyota Corolla in September 1986.<ref name="timeline" />  Almost right away, the NUMMI factory was producing cars at the same speed as the Japanese factories and Corollas produced at NUMMI were judged to be equal in quality to those produced in Japan with a similar number of defects per 100 vehicles.<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|23}}<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" />

In 1990, for the 1991 model year, Toyota started building the [[Toyota Hilux]] (also known as the Toyota Pickup) at NUMMI, allowing the company to completely avoid the [[chicken tax]], a 25 percent [[tariff]] on [[light truck]]s imposed in 1964. Previously, the company had avoided a large portion of the tariff by importing the truck as an incomplete [[chassis cab]] (which included the entire truck, less the truck bed) which only faced a 4% tariff.<ref name="ending chicken2">{{cite web|last=Ikenson|first=Daniel |date=June 18, 2003|title=Ending the 'Chicken War': The Case for Abolishing the 25 Percent Truck Tariff|url=http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6806 |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110921113753/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6806 |archive-date=September 21, 2011|access-date=November 29, 2011|website=The Cato Institute}}</ref> Once in the United States, [[Toyota Auto Body California]] (TABC) would produce the truck beds and attach them to the trucks. TABC was the first manufacturing investment in the U.S. for Toyota.<ref>{{Cite press release|title=Toyota's TABC Plant Celebrates 40 Years of Manufacturing in California|date=August 21, 2012|url=https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-tabc-plant-celebrates-40-years-manufacturing-california/ |access-date=2021-06-02|website=[[Toyota Motor North America]]}}</ref> This tariff loophole was closed in 1980.

NUMMI did face some financial challenges, with cars costing more to build than at other GM plants and only operating at 58.6% capacity by 1988.<ref name="sim2006">{{cite web|last=Simmers|first=Tim |date=March 5, 2006|title=NUMMI plant a model for ailing car industry|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2006/03/05/nummi-plant-a-model-for-ailing-car-industry/ |access-date=November 5, 2017|publisher=[[Contra Costa Times]]|quote=5,500 employees. The plant makes 960 cars a day and 650 trucks. A finished car comes off the assembly line every 55 seconds, and a truck rolls off every 81 seconds. It takes 6½ hours to make a car at NUMMI. It costs 30 percent to 40 percent more to make cars here}}</ref> The plant had not reached [[Break-even (economics)|break-even]] by 1991.<ref name="Adler 1992" />{{rp|14}}

In January 1995, NUMMI began producing the [[Toyota Tacoma]], a pickup truck designed exclusively for the North American market.<ref name="timeline" />

Up to May 2010, NUMMI built an average of 6,000 vehicles a week, or nearly eight million cars and trucks since opening in 1984.<ref name="atc2010" /><ref name="Langfitt 2015" /> In 1997, NUMMI produced 357,809 cars and trucks.<ref>{{cite web|title=GM Nummi Plant|url=http://autointell.com/nao_companies/general_motors/gm-manufacturing/gm-nummi/gmnummi.htm |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160314051152/http://autointell.com/nao_companies/general_motors/gm-manufacturing/gm-nummi/gmnummi.htm |archive-date=March 14, 2016|access-date=October 9, 2016|df=mdy}}</ref> Production reached its annual peak of 428,633 units in 2006.<ref name="peakprod">{{cite web |last=Schweinsberg |first=Christine |date=August 28, 2009 |title=Toyota's Decision to Abandon NUMMI Closes Book on 25-Year Experiment |url=http://wardsauto.com/news-analysis/toyota-s-decision-abandon-nummi-closes-book-25-year-experiment |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405231910/http://wardsauto.com/news-analysis/toyota-s-decision-abandon-nummi-closes-book-25-year-experiment |archive-date=April 5, 2016 |access-date=October 10, 2016 |work=[[Ward's]] |df=mdy}}</ref>

=== The end of the joint venture ===
Toyota took the lessons it learned from NUMMI and went on to establish the wholly-owned Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA (later renamed [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky]]) and [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada]] plants in 1986, and by 2009 the company was operating a dozen manufacturing facilities in North America.<ref name="Toyota 2019">{{Cite press release|title=2019 Toyota Operations North America Fact Sheet|date=December 2019|url=https://www.toyota.com/usa/pdfs/toyota-operations-map-north-america.pdf |access-date=4 September 2020}}</ref> However, NUMMI remained Toyota's only unionized plant in the United States.<ref name="inthesetimes20090828">{{cite news|last=Arrieta|first=Rose |date=August 28, 2009|title=Toyota to Close Only Union Factory In U.S.|work=inthesetimes.com|url=http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/4814/more_worker_casualties_in_a_bleak_economy |access-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref>

GM executives, particularly CEO [[John F. Smith Jr.]], attempted to spread the Toyota Production System to other assembly plants,<ref name="peakprod" /><ref name="popmech">{{cite web|date=April 2, 2010|title=Goodbye to NUMMI - How a Manufacturing Plant Changed the Culture of Car-Making|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a5514/4350856/ |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160919045747/http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a5514/4350856/ |archive-date=September 19, 2016|access-date=October 10, 2016|work=Popular Mechanics|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="change">{{cite web|date=September 14, 2008|title=NUMMI joint venture in California was a classroom for change|url=http://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/OEM/309149827/nummi-joint-venture-in-california-was-a-classroom-for-change |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161010095750/http://www.autonews.com/article/20080914/OEM/309149827/nummi-joint-venture-in-california-was-a-classroom-for-change |archive-date=October 10, 2016|access-date=October 10, 2016|work=Automotive News|df=mdy}}</ref> but it proved largely unsuccessful. Despite having a front row seat to learn about the production system, by 1998 (15 years later) GM had still not been able to implement [[lean manufacturing]] in the rest of the United States,<ref name="Langfitt 2015" /><ref name="hbr2009-09">{{cite journal|last=Gomes-Casseres|first=Ben |date=September 1, 2009|title=Nummi: What Toyota Learned and GM Didn't|url=https://hbr.org/2009/09/nummi-what-toyota-learned |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160811152723/https://hbr.org/2009/09/nummi-what-toyota-learned |archive-date=August 11, 2016|access-date=June 5, 2017|journal=[[Harvard Business Review]]}}</ref> though GM managers trained at NUMMI were successful in introducing the approach to its unionized factories in Brazil.<ref name="brazil98">{{cite news|last=Bradsher|first=Keith |date=June 17, 1998|title=G.M.'s Plant in Brazil Raises Fears Closer to Home|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/17/business/gm-s-plant-in-brazil-raises-fears-closer-to-home.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=April 7, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306135856/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/17/business/gm-s-plant-in-brazil-raises-fears-closer-to-home.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By 2009, GM was in serious financial trouble and [[General Motors Chapter 11 reorganization|filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization]]. In April the company confirmed its commitment to NUMMI<ref>{{cite web |last1=Popa |first1=Bogdan |title=GM Plans New Toyota Joint Product to Replace Pontiac Vibe |url=https://www.autoevolution.com/news/gm-plans-new-toyota-joint-product-to-replace-pontiac-vibe-6171.html |website=autoevolution |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091002191516/https://www.autoevolution.com/news/gm-plans-new-toyota-joint-product-to-replace-pontiac-vibe-6171.html |archive-date=October 2, 2009 |language=en |date=28 April 2009 |url-status=live |quote=We're clearly not backing away from our partnership at NUMMI. There's no issue of us backing away from NUMMI.}}</ref> and in June announced that it was scrapping the Pontiac brand which would end production of the Corolla-derived [[Pontiac Vibe]] at NUMMI by August 2009.<ref name="GmDiscontinuation">{{cite web|title=General Motors Statement Regarding Discontinuation of Pontiac Vibe Production at NUMMI Facility|access-date=June 20, 2009 |url=https://media.gmc.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2009/Jun/0618_PontiacNUMMI.html |website=media.gm.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220107015127/https://media.gmc.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2009/Jun/0618_PontiacNUMMI.html |archive-date=7 January 2022 |language=en |date=18 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GM to end Pontiac Vibe output at joint plant at Toyota. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/GM+to+end+Pontiac+Vibe+output+at+joint+plant+at+Toyota-a0204357717 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220107015356/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/GM+to+end+Pontiac+Vibe+output+at+joint+plant+at+Toyota-a0204357717 |archive-date=7 January 2022 |date=18 June 2009 |quote=About 460,000 Vibes were produced between 2002 and the end of May this year at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nakata |first1=Hiroko |title=GM ends NUMMI deal with Toyota |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/07/01/business/gm-ends-nummi-deal-with-toyota/ |website=[[The Japan Times]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210227155646/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/07/01/business/gm-ends-nummi-deal-with-toyota/ |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |date=1 July 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> That triggered several months of discussions between the automakers, trying to find products that could be produced at the factory for both companies, with Toyota even offering to build a version of its [[Toyota Prius|Prius]] hybrid for GM at the factory.<ref name="reuters20090710">{{cite news|last=Kim|first=Soyoung |date=July 10, 2009|title=UPDATE 1-Toyota may drop U.S. joint venture with GM|publisher=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1053085920090710 |access-date=July 13, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170301032922/https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1053085920090710 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg20090711">{{cite web|last1=Fujimura|first1=Naoko |last2=Komatsu|first2=Tetsuya |date=July 11, 2009|title=Toyota May Dissolve California Plant Venture Abandoned by GM|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=ay2RIu_K3uY4 |access-date=July 13, 2009|work=Bloomberg.com}}</ref>

Fremont Mayor [[Bob Wasserman]], city officials and California Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] lobbied the automakers to find a product and keep NUMMI open.<ref>{{cite news|last=Abate|first=Tom |date=August 6, 2009|title=State offers incentives to save Nummi plant|work=SFGate|url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/State-offers-incentives-to-save-Nummi-plant-3221710.php |access-date=November 3, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210121222242/http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/State-offers-incentives-to-save-Nummi-plant-3221710.php |archive-date=January 21, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bensinger|first=Ken |date=July 16, 2009|title=State lawmakers scramble to keep Toyota plant open|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jul-16-fi-autos-nummi16-story.html |access-date=November 3, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170228130031/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jul/16/business/fi-autos-nummi16 |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schwarzenegger|first1=Arnold|author-link1=Arnold Schwarzenegger |last2=Haggerty|first2=Scott |last3=Wasserman|first3=Bob|author-link3=Bob Wasserman |date=August 25, 2009|title=Restoring California's Automotive Industry|url=http://www.fremont.gov/documentcenter/home/view/2277 |access-date=November 3, 2015|website=fremont.gov |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210311135117/http://www.fremont.gov/documentcenter/home/view/2277 |archive-date=March 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="kcbs">{{cite news|date=January 6, 2012|title=Memorial Held For Fremont Mayor Wasserman|work=[[KCBS-TV]]|url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/01/06/memorial-held-for-fremont-mayor-wasserman/ |access-date=January 21, 2012}}</ref> State officials crafted sales [[tax exemption]] on new factory equipment to preserve NUMMI.<ref name="SFgate">{{cite web|first1=Tom |last1=Abate |first2=David R. |last2=Baker |date=May 21, 2010|title=Tesla joins with Toyota to reopen Nummi plant|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tesla-joins-with-Toyota-to-reopen-Nummi-plant-3263888.php |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160826193740/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Tesla-joins-with-Toyota-to-reopen-Nummi-plant-3263888.php |archive-date=August 26, 2016|access-date=June 5, 2017|publisher=SFgate|quote=State and local officials, who had crafted tax incentives, including worker training provisions and an exemption from sales taxes for new factory equipment to preserve Nummi}}</ref> A regional committee was formed in February 2010 to investigate the closure of the plant,<ref name="shutdown panel">{{cite web|date=February 24, 2010|title=Toyota's Proposed Plant Shutdown to Be Scrutinized by Panel of California Leaders|url=http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2010/02/24/467035.html |access-date=March 2, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201126130107/http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2010/02/24/467035.html |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the facility was [[Business valuation|appraised]] while operating.<ref name="Maynards">{{cite web|title=New United Motor Manufacturing Appraisals|url=http://www.equipmentappraisalsandauctions.com/new-united-motor-manufacturing.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160613192846/http://www.equipmentappraisalsandauctions.com/new-united-motor-manufacturing.html |archive-date=June 13, 2016|access-date=June 5, 2017|work=Maynards}}</ref>

The talks ultimately failed and in June 2009 the GM announced that it would pull out of NUMMI.<ref name="LaTimesGmEnds">{{cite news|title=GM ends 25-yr-old joint venture with Toyota to build cars, trucks at Calif. plant|work=Los Angeles Times|url=http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-gm-toyota,0,5435374.story |url-status=dead|access-date=June 30, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090702082237/http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-gm-toyota,0,5435374.story |archive-date=July 2, 2009|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="GN20090828">{{cite web|last=Thomas|first=Ken |date=August 28, 2009|title=Toyota plans to end production at Calif. plant|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iQBEwXHC6U1bXKTzzQiTXZbJnsVQD9ABC1P80 |access-date=August 29, 2009|work=Google News}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="SFGate20090828">{{cite news|last=Abate|first=Tom |date=August 28, 2009|title=Toyota closing Fremont Nummi plant|work=SFGate|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/27/BU6919EL3P.DTL |access-date=August 29, 2009}}</ref> On August 27, 2009, Toyota announced that it would also discontinue production at NUMMI by March 2010, marking the first time the company had ever closed a factory.<ref name="Bloomberg20090828">{{cite web|last1=Ohnsman|first1=Alan |last2=Inoue|first2=Kae |date=August 28, 2009|title=Toyota Will Shut California Plant in First Closure|url= https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJlxuxndoOsM |access-date=August 29, 2009|work=Bloomberg.com}}</ref>

In November 2009 call with autoworkers Toyota's head of U.S. sales said that though it was a difficult decision to shut down the plant, "the economics of having a plant in California so far away from the [[supply chain|supplier lines]]" in the Midwest "just doesn't make business sense" for Toyota.<ref name="KGO20091117">{{cite web|last=Matthews|first=Mark |date=November 17, 2009|title=Toyota sales head talks about NUMMI closure|url=https://abc7news.com/archive/7124549/ |access-date=November 22, 2009|work=abclocal.go.com/kgo |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170301090834/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/business&id=7124549 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Autoworkers prepared for the shut down by refreshing skills and planning for career transitions.<ref name="CCTimes20091116">{{cite web|last=Avalos|first=George |date=November 16, 2009 |title=NUMMI auto factory closing: End of the line|url=http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13766774?source=rss|url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222546/http://www.contracostatimes.com/business/ci_13766774?source=rss |archive-date=March 3, 2016|access-date=November 22, 2009|work=contracostatimes.com}}</ref><ref name="SFChronicle20091114">{{cite news|last=Abate|first=Tom |date=November 14, 2009|title=A huddle to help Nummi workers find new jobs|work=sfgate.com|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/13/BUP11AK7KA.DTL&type=business |access-date=November 22, 2009}}</ref> In March 2010, 90% of the workers at the plant approved a $281 million [[severance package]] from Toyota that had been negotiated by the UAW, averaging $54,000 to the plant's 4,700 employees.<ref>{{cite web|last=Avalos|first=George |date=March 18, 2010|title=NUMMI workers overwhelmingly approve shutdown agreement|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2010/03/18/nummi-workers-overwhelmingly-approve-shutdown-agreement/ |access-date=April 7, 2017|publisher=[[East Bay Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Tobak|first=Steve |date=April 2, 2010|title=Blame GM, Not Toyota, for NUMMI Plant Closure|work=CBS|location=US|url= http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blame-gm-not-toyota-for-nummi-plant-closure/|url-status=live |access-date=October 10, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161010120336/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blame-gm-not-toyota-for-nummi-plant-closure/ |archive-date=October 10, 2016|df=mdy}}</ref>

Production of the Corolla in North America was shifted to [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada]] until the new [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi]] assembly plant could open in October 2011. Production of the Tacoma had already partially shifted to [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Baja California]] in 2004, and the remaining work shifted to [[Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas]].<ref name="inthesetimes20090828" />

At 9:40am on April 1, 2010, the plant produced its last car, a red Toyota Corolla.<ref name="NUMMI Plant Closure">{{cite web|date=March 31, 2010|title=NUMMI Plant Closure Ends Toyota-GM Venture|website=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125430405 |access-date=March 31, 2010}}</ref> NUMMI sold off equipment at an auction,<ref name="Maynards" /> with robots and tooling going to Toyota's plants in Kentucky, Texas<ref>{{cite web|last=Ohnsman|first=Alan |date=September 18, 2011|title=Toyota gave old robots new tools to trim U.S. Camry price 2%|url=http://www.autonews.com/article/20110918/OEM01/309189998/toyota-gave-old-robots-new-tools-to-trim-u.s.-camry-price-2 |access-date=June 5, 2017|publisher=[[Automotive News]]/Bloomberg|quote=Along with the production robots transferred to Toyota's Georgetown, Ky., plant that makes most of the Camrys sold in North America, Nummi equipment was also acquired by Toyota's San Antonio plant and electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200719053238/http://www.autonews.com/article/20110918/OEM01/309189998/toyota-gave-old-robots-new-tools-to-trim-u.s.-camry-price-2 |archive-date=July 19, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and Mississippi.<ref name="Hull2010">{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Dana |date=September 16, 2010|title=2010: Tesla gets ready to take over the former NUMMI auto plant in Fremont|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/09/16/2010-tesla-gets-ready-to-take-over-the-former-nummi-auto-plant-in-fremont/ |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170502023843/http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/09/16/2010-tesla-gets-ready-to-take-over-the-former-nummi-auto-plant-in-fremont/ |archive-date=May 2, 2017|access-date=June 5, 2017|publisher=The Mercury News / Bloomberg|quote=The entire NUMMI facility covers about 370 acres. Tesla is buying 210 acres, a parcel that contains several buildings that have approximately 5.5 million square feet of floor space. NUMMI’s existing press line will be taken apart and sent to Toyota’s plant in Blue Springs, Miss.}}</ref> NUMMI sold some equipment to Tesla for $15 million.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 20, 2010|title=Tesla Buys Nummi Assets|url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/10841041/1/tesla-buys-nummi-assets.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151014211308/http://www.thestreet.com/story/10841041/1/tesla-buys-nummi-assets.html |archive-date=October 14, 2015|access-date=June 5, 2017}}</ref>

===Reuse of the factory===
{{Further|Tesla Fremont Factory}}
Ahead of the closure of NUMMI, several possible uses for the facility were proposed.

In January 2010, the land was considered for a new stadium for the [[Oakland Athletics]] of [[Major League Baseball]]. It is close to the proposed site of [[Cisco Field]], which was never formally approved.<ref name="SFChronicle20100108">{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Carolyn |date=January 9, 2010|title=Fremont's new pitch: A's stadium at Nummi site|work=sfgate.com|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/08/BABA1BFM0P.DTL&tsp=1 |access-date=January 15, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170325233014/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/08/BABA1BFM0P.DTL&tsp=1 |archive-date=March 25, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> On March 10, 2010, [[Aurica Motors]] announced that it intended to raise investment capital and garner federal economic stimulus funds to help retrain the workers and retool the facility for production of electric vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 10, 2010|title=Aurica Motors Announces Plan to Keep NUMMI Plant Open by Manufacturing Electric Cars|url=http://auricamotors.com/Aurica_NUMMI_March2010.docx |access-date=April 2, 2010|publisher=Aurica Motors|format=[[Word document]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707185344/http://auricamotors.com/Aurica_NUMMI_March2010.docx |archive-date=July 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=March 10, 2010|title=Auto firm setting sights on NUMMI|url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_14649734?source=most_viewed |access-date=April 2, 2010|publisher=The Oakland Tribune |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172957/http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_14649734?source=most_viewed |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Both proposals went nowhere.

On May 20, 2010, [[Tesla Motors]] announced that it would purchase most (210 of 370 acres)<ref name="Hull2010" /> of the former NUMMI site from Toyota for $42 million, significantly under market value.<ref name="San Francisco Business Times2">{{Cite news |last=Riddell |first=Lindsay |date=May 20, 2010 |title=Tesla to buy NUMMI plant, build cars with Toyota |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/05/17/daily65.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604200259/http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/05/17/daily65.html |archive-date=June 4, 2010 |access-date=June 9, 2010 |publisher=San Francisco Business Times}}</ref><ref name="Motavalli2">{{Cite news |last=Motavalli |first=Jim |date=May 22, 2010 |title=Some Views of the Toyota-Tesla Deal |url=http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/some-views-of-the-toyota-tesla-deal/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528153154/http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/22/some-views-of-the-toyota-tesla-deal/ |archive-date=May 28, 2010 |access-date=June 9, 2010 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> As part of the agreement, Toyota would also purchase $50 million of common stock when Tesla held its IPO the next month. In exchange, Tesla agreed to partner with Toyota on the "development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support." The two companies would later end their partnership in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 3, 2017 |title=Toyota Sells Stake in Tesla |url=https://www.industryweek.com/finance/article/22018589/toyota-sells-stake-in-tesla |access-date=June 12, 2021 |work=IndustryWeek |agency=Bloomberg}}</ref>

The plant, renamed the [[Tesla Fremont Factory]], produces the [[Tesla Model S|Model S]], [[Tesla Model X|Model X]], [[Tesla Model 3|Model 3]], and [[Tesla Model Y|Model Y]] vehicles.<ref name="engadget">{{cite web|title=Tesla lands sudden deal with Toyota, will build Model S sedan in Fremont NUMMI plant|url=https://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/tesla-lands-sudden-deal-with-toyota-will-build-model-s-sedan-in/ |access-date=December 21, 2010|publisher=Engadget}}</ref><ref name="detnews2">Tierney, Christine. [http://www.detnews.com/article/20100520/AUTO01/5200516/1148/Toyota-invests-in-Tesla-to-help-reopen-Calif.-plant Toyota invests in Tesla to help reopen Calif. plant] ''The Detroit News'', May 20, 2010. Retrieved: May 22, 2010</ref><ref name="tesla factory release">{{cite press release|url=http://ir.teslamotors.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=523911|title=Tesla Motors Opens Tesla Factory - Home of the Model S|publisher=Tesla Motors|date=October 27, 2010|access-date=July 18, 2012|archive-date=April 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414064729/http://ir.teslamotors.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=523911|url-status=dead}}</ref> {{As of|2023||df=US}}, the plant employs 22,000 people, far greater than the 5,500 employees of NUMMI, and produced nearly 560,000 vehicles, 30 percent more than the maximum output of NUMMI.<ref name="peakprod" /><ref name="Q4 2023 Shareholder Deck">{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2024 |title=Q4 2023 Shareholder Deck |url=https://digitalassets.tesla.com/tesla-contents/image/upload/IR/TSLA-Q4-2023-Update.pdf |access-date=January 24, 2024 |website=Tesla, Inc.}}</ref>

==Models produced==
During its time in operation, the NUMMI joint venture factory produced the following models (model years):<ref name="timeline"/>

*[[Chevrolet Chevy II / Nova#Fifth generation (1985–1988)|Chevrolet Nova]] (1985–1988)
*[[Geo Prizm|Geo/Chevrolet Prizm]] (1989–2002)
*[[Pontiac Vibe]]/[[Toyota Matrix]]/[[Toyota Voltz]] (2003–2010)
*[[Toyota Corolla]] (1987–2010)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E80)]] FX16 (1987)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E90)]] (1988–1992)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E100)]] (1993–1997)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E110)]] (1998–2002)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E130)]] (2002–2008)
**[[Toyota Corolla (E140)]] (2008–2010)
*[[Toyota Hilux (N100)|Toyota Hilux/Pickup]] (1992–1994)
*[[Toyota Tacoma]] (1995–2010)

==See also==
*[[CAMI Automotive]] (CAMI) — A similar joint venture in [[Canada]] between [[Suzuki]] and [[General Motors]] from 1986 to 2009; now operating as a wholly owned [[General Motors Canada#Canadian factories|GM]] plant.
*[[United Australian Automobile Industries]] (UAAI) — A similar joint venture in [[Australia]] between Toyota and [[Holden|GM-Holden]] from 1989 to 1996.
*''[[Gung Ho (film)|Gung Ho]]'' — A 1986 comedy film portraying a similar joint venture and is used by Toyota executives in Japan as an example of how not to manage Americans.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-03-04/why-toyota-is-afraid-of-being-number-one |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809032826/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-03-04/why-toyota-is-afraid-of-being-number-one |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 9, 2012 |title=Why Toyota Is Afraid Of Being Number One |work=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |date=March 5, 2007 |access-date=July 9, 2011}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.autointell.com/nao_companies/general_motors/gm-manufacturing/gm-nummi/gmnummi.htm Autointell NUMMI page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080529032814/http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=105515 Photo Tour of NUMMI] from [[Edmunds.com]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090113183722/http://www.jdpower.com/reports/gm/ JD Power Gold Plant Award for GM]
*[https://www.thisamericanlife.org/561/nummi-2015 NUMMI (2015)] from [[This American Life]]
*[https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/ihjdqWNpPSfE/v1/800x-1.png NUMMI production over the years] <!-- from 
 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-27/musk-s-plant-makeover-even-more-of-a-long-shot-as-model-3-lags -->

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{{General Motors}}
{{Toyota Motor Corporation}}

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[[Category:General Motors factories]]
[[Category:Toyota factories]]
[[Category:Motor vehicle assembly plants in California]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Companies based in Fremont, California]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1984]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2010]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in California]]
[[Category:2010 disestablishments in California]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Industrial buildings completed in 1960]]
[[Category:Former joint ventures]]