Toyota Motor Corp said Tuesday that it would spend 16.9 billion yen (220 million dollars) on the construction of a new vehicle production plant in Thailand to meet growing demand.
The new factory, Gateway Plant No 2, is scheduled to start operations in mid-2013 with an annual production capacity of some 70,000 units, Toyota said in a statement.
Gateway Plant No 1 produces 220,000 units a year, Toyota said.
The Japanese carmaker said it will also invest an additional 2.9 billion yen to resume output at Thai Auto Works Co at the end of 2012 with an annual production capacity of some 20,000 units. The carmaker closed the plant at the end of May 2010 due to falling demand.
The moves will raise Toyota’s total annual production capacity in Thailand to 760,000 units by mid-2013, the carmaker said.
In 2011, Toyota had halted output in Thailand for months due to the massive flooding in the country.
