---

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. To Acquire Puerto Rico Distributorship

28 January 1999

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. To Acquire Puerto Rico Distributorship

    TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 28 -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.
(TMS), Toyota's U.S sales and marketing arm, today announced plans to acquire
Toyota de Puerto Rico Corp. (TDPR), from Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), TMS'
Japan-based parent company.
    The announcement comes on the heels of an important milestone: Calendar-
year sales of 26,629 vehicles in 1998 earned Toyota recognition as Puerto
Rico's top-selling automaker, the first time this has happened since TDPR's
establishment in 1994.
    When the acquisition of TDPR is finalized this spring, TDPR, Puerto Rico's
exclusive distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles, will become a subsidiary
of TMS.
    "The acquisition is designed to enhance Toyota's operational efficiencies
in Puerto Rico," said Yoshio Ishizaka, TMS President and CEO. "In addition to
logistical advantages, the overall support of Toyota's large U.S. operations
will benefit Toyota de Puerto Rico, its 22 dealerships and consumers alike."
    TDPR, based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, employs 148 associates.
    TMS, established in 1957, employs nearly 8,000 associates at its
headquarters in California and at other locations across the United States.