Toyota is opening up portions of its 11,650-acre Arizona Proving Grounds to other automakers as a contract testing resource, allowing them space to build their own garages and offices on-site and use its many on-road and off-road testing tracks.
The Japanese automaker opened the facility in 1993 in Wittmann, Ariz., in the Sonoran Desert, about 60 miles northwest of Phoenix, and has been using its desert tracks for durability, performance and reliability testing ever since. Toyota has contracted with Intertek Transportation Technologies to operate the proving grounds and provide tenant management, but it will still continue to own and use the facility, the company explained Friday.
“TAPG has world-class resources for making ever-better vehicles, and by opening it up to the whole industry for long-term engagements, we believe it can make an even greater impact on advancing mobility for all,” Randy Stephens, group vice president of product performance engineering at Toyota Motor North America R&D, said in a statement. “This is also an opportunity to create new value with a capital-intensive asset, opening a revenue stream that can be used for continuous improvements on the facility that will further benefit Toyota and tenants.”
The proving grounds already contain a 10-mile oval track, a 4×4 trail and hill climb, a dirt track, a ride/handling course and an area for testing vehicle dynamics among its 77 miles of testing surfaces, about 25 miles of which are paved. Toyota also is building new testing amenities on-site, including expanded off-road testing and a noise pass-by evaluation course.
“The automotive industry is going through a revolutionary change right now, and we look forward to assisting all OEMs and suppliers who are at the forefront of this automotive development by using our expertise in site management and test operations to help get their products to market with precision, pace and passion,” Gavin Campbell, president of Intertek Transportation Technologies, said in the statement.
