IN BRIEF : Toyota May Build British Factory
Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest auto maker, is studying the possibility of building a factory in Britain to produce passenger cars by 1992, Toyota President Shoichiro Toyoda said today.
“Toyota has been considering European car production for some time,” Toyoda said at a news conference. “We are starting in-depth feasibility studies with Britain as a strong candidate for a site for our car production in Europe. It does not mean we have made a final decision.”
The study will examine plans for production of 1,800-cubic centimeter cars at the rate of 200,000 a year, Toyoda said. The factory would employ about 3,000 workers and represent an investment of 140 billion yen, or about $1.1 billion, he said.
Toyota Executive Vice President Tsutomu Ohshima said the company “will consider the option in Britain first, before others we have.” He described the feasibility study as “an assessment to make it (production in Europe) possible, not just to see our chance with the project.”
Toyota, ranked third in worldwide auto production after General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., would be the second Japanese auto maker to produce cars on its own in Britain. Nissan Motor Co. started production there in 1986.
