Report: Toyota president assuages fears that he's closing all Japanese factories

Filed under: Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

Toyota President Akio Toyoda caused something of an uproar in the automaker's home market of Japan when he suggested that "logically, it doesn't make sense to manufacture in Japan." Why? The surging value of the Yen, currently at a 15-year high, compared to the U.S. Dollar.

Considering that the vast majority of vehicles Toyota builds in Japan are intended for export and that the American market is still the automaker's most important, the value of the Yen is a major stumbling block standing in the way of profits. Still, Toyoda has confirmed that his eponymous company has no intention of entirely halting production in Japan.

What that assurance doesn't mean, however, is that Toyota won't continue to shift production overseas in an effort to retain profitability. While none of the Japanese plants will be completely closed, they may see a good portion of their output transferred to facilities in other markets... notably North America.

[Source: Just-Auto]
Report: Toyota president assuages fears that he's closing all Japanese factories originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments



Read More 2 Read More 3 Read More 1