Toyota Opens New End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Facility in Poland

Toyota Motor Europe has confirmed plans to build a new circular-economy processing site in Walbrzych, Poland, aimed at dismantling and recovering materials from about 20,000 end-of-life vehicles annually, as the automaker accelerates efforts to cut lifecycle emissions and secure secondary raw materials, company announcements indicate.

The 25,000-square-metre installation will focus on systematic vehicle recovery, identifying reusable components and extracting metals and plastics for reintegration into manufacturing streams. The investment extends the company’s broader push to embed circularity into its European operations, where tightening environmental rules and rising material costs are prompting automakers to rethink how vehicles are retired and recycled. Analysts say end-of-life vehicle processing has become a strategic priority for carmakers seeking to stabilize supplies of copper, aluminium and battery materials while reducing dependence on carbon-intensive primary production.

Toyota said the Walbrzych operation will assess parts such as batteries and wheels for remanufacturing, reuse or material recycling, while recovering steel, aluminium, copper and plastics for new vehicle production. The site will operate alongside the existing Walbrzych manufacturing complex, which currently produces components for both hybrid and conventional powertrains, allowing the company to link dismantling, materials recovery and production within the same industrial ecosystem.

The project follows the launch of Toyota’s first European Circular Factory in Burnaston, United Kingdom, opened in 2025 and now used internally as a reference model for similar initiatives. Company executives cited Poland’s established automotive infrastructure and access to large volumes of retired vehicles as key factors behind the location choice, adding that comparable facilities may be rolled out in other European markets in the coming years.

Industry observers note that European Union directives on vehicle recyclability and recycled-content targets are increasing pressure on manufacturers to manage the full lifecycle of their products. Trade associations argue that integrating dismantling and materials recovery closer to manufacturing hubs can improve traceability and reduce logistics emissions, strengthening compliance while lowering long-term input costs.

Toyota frames circularity as a central lever in its carbon-neutrality roadmap, emphasizing that designing vehicles for reuse, remanufacturing and efficient material recovery can shrink emissions across supply chains. Market analysts say the success of the Polish project will likely depend on consistent feedstock supply, efficient sorting technologies and the economic viability of reclaimed materials compared with virgin alternatives.

The Walbrzych facility is expected to reinforce Toyota’s European recycling network and could signal a broader shift among automakers toward factory-linked dismantling systems as circular manufacturing moves from pilot programs to industrial scale.

Source: Toyota

SUNSHINE Spotlight: Toyota’s new Polish Circular Factory underscores how automakers are turning vehicle recycling into a core industrial function rather than an end-of-life afterthought.