TOYOTA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR PLANTS
IN KYUSHU, HOKKAIDO, AND TOHOKU

TOYOTA CITY―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION today announced plans for a new vehicle assembly plant and two auto parts manufacturing facilities to be built in southern and northern Japan. The company's first domestic plants to be located outside the Toyota City area are scheduled to be built at industrial parks in Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Tohoku.

The three plants are designed to cope with the increasing diversification and sophistication of consumer tastes, as well as changes in the labor situation, including the growing trend toward shorter working hours, an aging work force, and a general shortage of labor. In building the plants, Toyota aims to improve its existing operations in conjunction with the restructuring of existing plants, rather than directly increase production. The new vehicle assembly plant in Kyushu will employ about 2,000 people to produce 200,000 small-sized luxury cars annually.

Toyota applied to local authorities in February of this year for the purchase of the sites and expects to take ownership in spring 1991. Construction in Kyushu and Hokkaido is scheduled to begin immediately following purchase, with construction in Tohoku planned for early 1992.

Total investment in the three projects is expected to reach about ¥270 billion ($1.8 billion).