Toyota has declined to comment on a Japanese newspaper report it is to freeze plans to build new factories in Thailand and Russia as demand falls world-wide.
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The Sankei, citing an unnamed company official, said the suspension of construction plans for the new factories in Thailand and Russia was part of proposals to cut capital expenditure and output after the automaker forecast a full-year operating loss for fiscal 2008/9, according to Reuters.
Toyota began building Camry models at a new 50,000-units-a-year factory in St Petersburg, Russia, in December 2007 but would now freeze plans to build a secondary factory at the location as production at the existing factory fell short of its forecast, the newspaper said.
A Toyota Motor Europe spokeswoman told just-auto the company could not comment. “We never announced expansion [of] the Russian plant,” she said.
Last June, Toyota said it would build a new 150,000 units-a-year diesel engine factory in Thailand, raising annual output there to 350,000 units in 2010 and adding around 700 jobs. But the automaker would now suspend the plan because of slumping global auto demand, the Sankei said.
Although Thailand was out of TME’s jurisdiction, its spokeswoman said the expansion plan cut there had been announced.
