Toyota's old Corolla factory now dismantles cars for a greener future

Toyota has turned its old Corolla factory in Burnaston, England, into a new kind of plant—one that takes cars apart instead of building them. The site, now called a Circular Factory, aims to recover valuable materials from end-of-life vehicles for reuse. The company wants to test whether this approach can work financially within the next three years. The Burnaston plant once assembled cars but now focuses on dismantling them. Around 400 workers handle the process, which takes about three hours per vehicle. They have found breaking down cars far more labour-intensive than putting them together.

Toyota is also building a second dismantling facility in Wałbrzych, Poland, due to open by late 2026. These two sites serve as pilot projects, with no immediate plans for further locations in Europe. The company is developing a system called 'Reverse TPS' to design vehicles that can be taken apart more easily in the future.

Beyond recycling, Toyota intends to keep producing internal combustion engine vehicles after 2035. The catch is that their CO₂ emissions must be balanced out by using more recycled materials. The goal is to create a sustainable loop where high-value components get a second life in new cars. The Circular Factory concept is still in its early stages, with Toyota monitoring costs and efficiency over the next three years. If successful, the approach could help the company meet environmental targets while keeping production viable. For now, the focus remains on the two pilot sites in England and Poland.