Toyota Motor Corporation announced its plans to build two plants, one in China in 2018 and another in Mexico in 2019. The plant in Mexico is to be built in the State of Guanajuato, with a production capacity of 200,000 vehicles annually. The Mexican plant will produce a new version of the Corolla – the highest selling sedan in the world – for North America. When the new plants are in operation, the company’s production capacity will increase by 300,000 vehicles, reaching 11 million per year. This announcement, which will be formalized in the coming days, will end a three-year freeze put in place by Toyota President, Akio Toyoda. As has been noted in the press, Toyota encountered quality problems and serious difficulties following a 2009 vehicle recall. Toyota is one of the few large-scale manufacturers without an automobile assembly plant in Mexico. Undoubtedly, the positive investment conditions offered by Mexico, including low labor costs, proximity to the United States, and being the largest market for Japanese cars, all motivated this decision. Toyota has a plant in Baja California that produces Tacoma trucks, but it does not currently have an automobile assembly plant in Mexico. This is good news for Mexico, and in particular Guanajuato, which will see the benefit of this multi-million dollar investment that will bring a large number of direct and indirect jobs to the region, as has occurred with the benefits Toyota brought to San Antonio, Texas, where its Tundra manufacturing plant is located.
