Toyota said on Wednesday it would sign a deal to expand an alliance with China’s First Automotive Works (FAW) that includes additional joint production of vehicles, according to Reuters.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Reuters said that Toyota formed a broad alliance in August with FAW to build 300,000 to 400,000 luxury sedans, compacts and sport-utility vehicles annually in China by 2010 and, as part of the alliance, rolled out in October its first Chinese-made car at its plant held 50-50 with Tianjin Automotive Xiali Co Ltd, which is 51% owned by FAW.
According to Reuters, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported earlier on Wednesday that under the new contract with FAW, Toyota planned to produce the Crown luxury sedan from 2005 at a new plant in China, with an initial production target of 30,000 vehicles a year.
Tianjin Automotive said in October that Toyota had started building a second plant in the northern city of Tianjin to make cars based on the Crown, Reuters noted.
According to Reuters, the newspaper also said that Toyota would also provide technical assistance in the production of Land Cruiser luxury sports-utility vehicles at the FAW group’s Changchun plant, and give assistance to a factory in Sichuan Province, operated by Toyota and a FAW group firm, in building Land Cruiser Prados [Colorados]. Combined production for the two models would be 3,000-4,000 vehicles a year.
