Toyota is reportedly planning to shut down a car assembly plant in Japan as it looks to consolidate its production network ahead of the auto industry's technological shift towards electric and driverless vehicles.
The Nikkei news agency reported the subsidiary plant in the Shizuoka Prefecture city of Susono will cease production as early as fiscal 2020, marking the Toyota Group's first reshuffle of passenger vehicle assembly operations in 11 years.
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The report said the plant produces an estimated 50,000 vehicles a year, including the Porte and Spade compacts, the JPN Taxi, and the Century luxury sedan.
It added that production of the Porte and others will move to Miyagi and Iwate prefectures in the northeast. The Century model may go to a facility in Toyota's home prefecture of Aichi.
The Nikkei report also said that the Shizuoka plant's 1,100 workers will be reassigned to the northeastern Japan facilities in phases, starting later this year.
The report added that a nearby development centre in Shizuoka will continue operations and said that 'Toyota will look for new ways to utilise the Shizuoka site within the group.
