
Toyota has said it is scaling back plans for anew vehicle assembly plant in Mexico due to market requirements.
The Japanese automaker in 2015 had announced plans to invest US$1bn to build a new 200,000 unit/year plant in Mexico’s Guanajuato state to make the Corolla compact car, with production scheduled to begin in 2019.
Executive vice-president Didier Leroy told reporters at the Tokyo Motor Show this week that the investment will be scaled back to US$700m and capacity to 100,000 units per year.
The Corolla will now be produced at a new joint venture plant in the USA with Mazda Motor, which was announced in August, with the location and production schedule not yet decided.
The Guanajuato plant will build the Tacoma pickup truck instead to fulfil rising regional demand for this model.
Mr Leroy pointed out that the decision was based on market factors and part of a broader realignment of its North American operations, rather than in response to political pressure from the Trump administration.
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By GlobalDataAutomakers in general are wary of a political backlash for increasing production in Mexico to supply the US market, even though this complies with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
US President Donald Trump was unhappy with Toyota’s plans to build a new plant in Mexico and threatened to impose import tariffs on the Mexican-built vehicles.