Toyota will build a new US$600 million auto plant in Brazil that is set to initially churn out 70,000 vehicles a year and employ 1,500 workers, the world’s biggest car maker said yesterday.
The factory in Sorocaba, 100km west of Sao Paulo, will be the auto giant’s third in the South American country, where it opened its first overseas plant in 1962.
Construction will start in September on land the company bought two years ago and production of a newly developed compact car, both for the domestic market and export, is set to begin in the second half of 2012.
Toyota do Brasil Ltda already produces auto parts at its Sao Bernardo plant and the Corolla model at its Indaiatuba plant, which are both also located in Sao Paulo state.
The company said in a statement that it “intends to expand local production in line with market growth in Brazil and other emerging markets.”
Meanwhile, the Nissan-Renault alliance and Russia’s top automaker Avtovaz, maker of Lada cars, will jointly produce subcompact cars at a plant in Russia from 2012, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday.
With the 400 million euro (US$500 million) investment, they will produce 300,000 vehicles a year at AvtoVAZ’s Tolyatti plant, Avtovaz president Igor Komarov told the business daily Nikkei.
Partners Nissan of Japan and Renault of France will shoulder 300 million euros of the total investment, the report said.
Starting from September 2012, Nissan will make 75,000 vehicles a year, with Renault due to roll out 150,000 vehicles annually from March 2013, while state-run AvtoVAZ will produce 75,000 Lada vehicles a year.
The three will market the subcompacts under their own brands, according to the report.
Imports make up nearly half of Russia’s auto market, but the three automakers want to lift their combined share to 40 percent from 33 percent last year.
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