| 18730 - Toyota to increase Chinese output | 31/07/2006 - 15:53:09 |
Annual production capacity at the plant in southern China will increase to 200,000 cars by year's end, and staff numbers will grow from 2,100 to 3,500. In 2005 Toyota started making its Prius cars in Changchun, north-east China. Its plant in Guangzhou opened in May 2006 in cooperation with Guangzhou Automobile Group. Production boost Toyota expects to make more than nine million cars in 2006 and could overtake General Motors as the world's biggest carmaker by the end of the year. Meanwhile, other Japanese carmakers are also hoping to take advantage of the fast-growing car market in China and its large pool of cheap labour. In particular they have been looking to boost output at their joint venture factories in Guangzhou. Honda Motor plans to boost the capacity of its factory to 50,000 units per year by early 2007. Nissan Motor plans to increase output at its factory in the region from 150,000 units a year to 270,000 units. Fuel-efficient According to a new report, Japanese carmakers made more vehicles overseas than they did at home during financial year 2005/06. During that time they made 10.93 million vehicles abroad and 10.89 million vehicles in Japan, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (Jama) said. Japanese carmarkers have been increasing their market share in the US, and are also attracting customers to their more fuel-efficient models. At the same time ,American carmakers General Motors and Ford have been losing money and looking for ways to cut costs.
Original Location: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5230178.stm |
