URGENT-Toyota to build 2 new Mexican, Chinese plants -Nikkei

MEXICO CITY, April 2 (Reuters) – Japanese car giant Toyota Motor Corp is planning two new factories in Mexico and China, at a cost of 150 billion yen ($ 1.25 billion), Nikkei reported on Thursday.

The Mexican plant will be based in the central state of Guanajuato, and have a capacity of 200,000 cars a year, Nikkei said, adding that it would build a new version of the Corolla sedan for the North American market.

The Chinese plant will be in the city of Guangzhou and will produce up to 100,000 Yaris subcompacts a year, Nikkei said.

The Chinese plant would open in 2018, while the Mexican factory would open in 2019, Nikkei said.

Last month, Reuters reported that Toyota’s board was finalizing plans for the Mexican plant, which would represent an investment of over $ 1 billion.

The new plants would signal an end to a 3-year expansion freeze imposed by the Japanese auto maker’s president, Akio Toyoda, who has blamed aggressive expansion a decade ago for contributing to quality lapses and a 2009 recall crisis.

Source text (http://s.nikkei.com/1yGCLKD)

($ 1 = 119.7000 yen) (Reporting by Bangalore Newsroom; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter)