VW and Toyota Consider Canceling Pickup Co-Production Deal

08/06/96

Nikkei English News and Reuters are both reporting that VW and Toyota are considering canceling the contract under which Volkswagen produces Toyota's Hilux pickup truck. Slumping sales in Europe have spurred discussions about the cancelation, which may come as early as next year. Toyota has provided Volkswagen with information on how to produce the trucks since 1989, Volkswagen has been making them, and each of the two carmakers have been selling the trucks under their own brand name in the European market.

The original plan was to produce 15,000 trucks per year, but production of the pick-up peaked in 1991 at 12,000 units. It fell back to 7,831 trucks in 1995.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel