Toyota Establishes Sichuan Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.

Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) today announced that it has helped establish Sichuan Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (SCTM) in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China. The new company, which will begin production and sales of a Coaster-class bus for the Chinese market in 2001, was jointly established on November 10 with Sichuan Station Wagon Factory and Toyota Tsusho Corp. following approval by the Chinese government.

SCTM will start with an annual production of 3,000 units in 2001, with expansion to 10,000 units planned in 2005. The bus to be manufactured will be sold in China under the Toyota brand.

TMC has already established a joint venture in Tianjin City to manufacture four types of component items―including engines, steering systems, and constant-velocity universal joints―but SCTM will be TMC's first vehicle production plant in China. The yearly production capacity of 10,000 units will rival Japan's current domestic Coaster production (10,635 units in 1997).

The automobile market in China is expected to expand substantially in the future; the bus market in particular is thought to have great growth potential given the intensifying need for personnel transport vehicles. SCTM was established to meet increasing demands for durable and safe buses that can transport large numbers of people stably at high speeds on China's quickly expanding freeway system.

The new company is to produce vehicles based on the Coaster bus currently produced by TMC, but newly designed to best meet the needs of the Chinese market. The vehicles will be divided into luxury and semi-luxury grades for each of two engine types (gasoline and diesel). The main target users are expected to be in the tourism industry, hotels, taxi companies, government agencies, and large corporations, among others. Development of the vehicle will be carried out jointly by TMC and Sichuan Station Wagon Factory.

SCTM, which is to manufacture and sell Toyota-brand products, will expand its sales and service network as it prepares for production start-up. To implement reliable after-sales service to meet the needs of domestic users, SCTM will grant certification to dealers and repair facilities that meet certain required conditions, thus fortifying its sales and service network.

TMC expects the establishment of the new company to contribute to the development of the Chinese automobile industry and the country's inland regions, and looks forward to having a wider range of customers enjoy the quality of Toyota products to be sold from 2001 onwards.