Toyota Motor's Joint Venture in China Plans to Build Third Tianjin Plant

TOKYO October 26, 2005; The AP reported that Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that its joint venture with China's biggest automaker plans to build a third plant in China with an annual production capacity of 200,000 passenger cars.

Tianjin FAW Toyota Motor Co., set up by Toyota and China FAW Group Corp., is currently applying for the Chinese government approval of the joint project in China's northeastern city of Tianjin, said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco.

If approved, production is slated to begin in the middle of 2007, he said.

The new plant would be the joint venture's third factory in Tianjin and Toyota's sixth production base in China, Nolasco said.

Toyota, Japan's top automaker, aims to gain a 10 percent market share in China by 2010, including sales of cars exported from Japan and vehicles produced locally through its FAW tie-up.

Last year, Toyota models accounted for 2.1 percent, or 98,000 units, of the estimated 4.6 million vehicles sold in China, according to Toyota. The world's major automakers are bolstering their presence in China to make inroads into the country's growing auto market.

The joint venture started operating its first plant in October 2002 in Tianjin, producing Corolla and Vios compact sedan models, Nolasco said. That plant has an annual output capacity of 120,000 vehicles.

With an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, the venture's second plant began operating in March 2005, producing the Crown and Reiz luxury sedans, he said. Production capacity there will be raised to 150,000 vehicles a year in near future, Nolasco said.