Toyota is to expand capacity at one of its three plants in Thailand next September.

Toyota Motor Thailand planned to expand capacity at its Banpho plant in Chachoengsao province to 220,000 units a year in September from 140,000 now, president Kyoichi Tanada told a news conference, Reuters reported.

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“The continuous growth of the auto market is clearly seen in the one-tonne pickup segment,” Tanada said, adding Toyota would concentrate on such vehicles, a big part of the Thai market, in part because of demand from the agriculture sector.

Toyota had said it planned to spend THB3bn (US$100m) to increase production at Banpho which produces Fortuner sport utility vehicles and Hilux pickups.

Tanada, also newly appointed president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, said Japanese investors were increasingly interested in shifting production bases to other Asian countries with lower costs, especially Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and India.

In Thailand, Toyota will also expand production by boosting efficiency at its three assembly plants, Tanada added.

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Thai auto sales are expected to rise 12.4% this year to 900,000 units due to increasing demand and the launch of several new car models, he added. Sales jumped 21.1 percent to to 432,000 units in the first half of the year.

Toyota’s first-half sales in Thailand grew 8% to 156,301, giving it a leading market share of 36.2%, and it targeted 2011 sales of 360,000 units, including 181,000 one-tonne pickup trucks, he said, according to Reuters.

Toyota expected car exports from Thailand to drop 2% in 2011 to 328,800 units due to effects of the March earthquake in Japan, Tanada said.

Operations in Thailand returned to normal from 23 May after supply chain disruptions.

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