The Toyota Motor Corp group announced plans on October 23 to build its first new domestic car assembly plant in more than a decade to boost efficiency amid fast-growing sales.
A Toyota subsidiary that produces Corollas, the bB subcompact vehicle and Raum mini-vans will relocate its main office and factory to an industrial complex in north-eastern Miyagi Prefecture, the company announced.
"The current factory is 50 years old and too small, so this new plant would improve company efficiency," said an official of Central Motor Co, which is currently located in Kanagawa Prefecture close to Tokyo. It plans to start operating the plant in 2010, producing about 120,000 vehicles annually although overall output will not be affected.
Press reports said the group would spend 50 billion yen (435 million dollars) on the facility although both Toyota and Central Motor officials declined to confirm the size of the investment. A pioneer of eco-friendly hybrids, Toyota is nock recently after several large recalls. Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said Tuesday that the automaker would remained focused on resolving the reliability issues.
"Quality is the lifeblood of a company so we have to squarely tackle the problem," he told an automotive conference in Tokyo. Toyota was last year instructed by Japan's transport ministry to improve its operations after local police alleged that the company knowingly failed to respond to a defect in a sports utility vehicle.
The automaker later submitted to the government a plan to improve its system for recalling defective vehicles following the rare official rebuke.
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