Toyota increases production capacities in North America and emerging markets

Plans to produce key hybrid system components in US and China

2012/05/25

Summary


 The following is a summary of production and sales plans for 2012-2013 and overseas operation enhancement plans of Toyota Motor Corporation (excluding Hino and Daihatsu). (Toyota's operations in Japan and financial results for FY2011 will follow in a separate report.)

 Toyota's global production declined to 6.93 million vehicles in 2011, but the company plans to produce 8.65 million units in 2012 to top the all-time high marked five years ago in 2007. Toyota also plans to increase its global sales in 2012 to 8.58 million units mainly in emerging markets and renew the record.

 The company will continue to expand local production under the concept of producing vehicles where needs are. Toward this goal, new organizations were inaugurated as of January 1, 2012, dedicated to the rapid localization of production and procurement in foreign countries, and to vehicle model planning for emerging countries.

 Toyota is proceeding with drastic production capacity enhancements and local production plans in North America and emerging countries.

 In North America, Toyota's new plant in Mississippi began operating and the completed vehicle production capacities at the Indiana plant and the Woodstock plant (Canada) are being increased along with further localization of powertrains. To minimize the influence of the yen's high appreciation, Toyota plans to turn the U.S. into an export base to third countries taking advantage of the FTA between the United States and Korea, and so on.

 Toyota is considering producing the Prius in the United States starting in or around 2015. The company is also planning to produce key components of its hybrid vehicles in the United States.

 As for China, Toyota is determined to regain momentum in vehicle sales in China, using the localization of hybrid and other eco-car technologies as breakthroughs, and see market penetration of hybrid vehicles there. The company plans to locally produce hybrid system components developed by the newly-established Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China), and start using them in production cars in or around 2015.

 Toyota also has plans to increase or otherwise start local production of vehicles in other parts of Asia (Thailand, Indonesia and India) and in Russia, Argentina, Brazil and Egypt. The company will also promote local production of powertrains in Thailand and India.

 In the "Toyota Global Vision" unveiled in March 2011, one of the global challenges was to build a global framework that will make it easier for regional operations to get involved in carmaking more directly. As the first step of undertaking, the new Avalon was launched in April 2012 that was developed under the leadership of the US team.

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