Toyota wants new plant and cheaper cars to grow
Valor Econômico - 03/26/2008
The headquarters' high dependence on the making decisions delayed Toyota's growth plans in Brazil. Without cars prices below R$ 60 thousand (US$ 34.1 thousand), the maker, which has 2.8% of the car sales in the country, has given up the idea of having 10% of this market until 2010, which was accepted by the representatives of the company throughout last decade. More than most of car makers in operation in Brazil, any decision making in this company depends on the approval of the headquarters in Japan. That includes the quality standards of the produced cars, as well as the conception of new projects and even the choosing of the site for the new unit. A team from Japan, which is now responsible for every new production line of the company anywhere in the world, has the task of choosing a Brazilian State to set up a new unit. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul are in this race, but no date has been defined yet, even though the Brazilian team is rooting for the plant to come out the drawer still this year. The production of a car at the price range below the Corolla line - made in Indaiatuba (SP) and that costs between R$ 62 thousand (US$ 35.2 thousand) and R$ 87 thousand (US$ 49.4 a thousand) - depends on the new plant. That's the reason why the Brazilian operation of Toyota got stuck in the dispute with the other makers for more generous market shares in a region of important emerging economies, such as the Mercosur. During the presentation of the new Corolla's generation, yesterday, the Toyota's CEO in the Mercosur Shozo Hasebe said that, during the conversations with the headquarters about the growth of the brand's participation in regions such as the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), "the expectations regarding Brazil are big. With an investment of US$ 268.3 million, the plant of Indaiatuba was prepared to increase the annual production of the Corolla from 50 thousand to 70 thousand units. Some exportation contracts, such as the Venezuela's, are being cancelled. This way, besides transferring to the headquarters the responsibility of the negotiations of the more delicate exports, as Venezuela's, the Brazilian branch will be able to pay more attention to the growing domestic market.