Guangzhou Automobile and TMC Establish Joint Vehicle Production
and Sales Company in Guangzhou, China

Tokyo ― GUANGZHOU AUTOMOBILE GROUP CO., LTD. (Guangzhou Automobile) and TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) held a ceremony today in Guangzhou, China, to mark the establishment of Toyota’s first production and sales base in China’s Guangdong Province. Guangzhou Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (GTMC) was established on Sept. 1 following approval by the Chinese government; it is expected to have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, with production and sales of the mid-size Toyota Camry sedan scheduled to begin in mid-2006.
Capitalized at 1.3 billion yuan RMB (approx. 17.3 billion yen) with equity participation at 50% by both Guangzhou Automobile and TMC, GTMC―in the heart of China’s largest automobile market of Guangdong Province―is expected to play an active role in the future development of Toyota’s operations in China. Guangzhou Automobile Chairman Zhang Fangyou is slated to be named GTMC chairman, while Toru Kuzuhara, a project general manager at TMC’s Takaoka Plant in Japan, is due to be named GTMC president.

Today’s red-carpet establishment ceremony was graced with the presence of numerous officials from the Chinese central government as well as the Guangdong provincial and Guangzhou municipal governments. Guangzhou Automobile’s Chairman Zhang and President Lu Zhifeng and TMC’s Executive Vice President Kosuke Shiramizu, Senior Managing Director Akio Toyoda and Honorary Chairman Shoichiro Toyoda were also in attendance.

The GMTC-built Camry is scheduled to feature the AZ engine made by Guangqi Toyota Engine, Ltd. (GTE), an engine-making joint venture set up in February this year by Guangzhou Automobile and TMC.