JAKARTA, Sept. 13 (Kyodo) — Toyota Motor Corp., Asia's biggest carmaker, announced Tuesday it will build a second factory in Indonesia to meet demand in the growing Indonesian market.
The new plant, to go into operation in early 2013, will increase the company's production capacity in the country to 180,000 units per year from the current 110,000.
As Indonesia's car market is growing steadily against the backdrop of the country's robust economy, the automaker aims to strengthen local production to expand sales. In Southeast Asia, it is positioning Indonesia as a leading car manufacturing hub comparable to Thailand.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a news conference in Jakarta that various automakers are focusing on Indonesia's car industry. "There's a growing sense of anticipation (of market expansion)," he said.
Toyoda is in Jakarta to attend a ceremony later Tuesday to mark Toyota's 40th anniversary of business in Indonesia.
It plans to spend about 26.3 billion yen to build the new plant near its existing Karawang plant in the suburbs of Jakarta. It is expected to produce low-priced subcompact models currently being developed.
Currently Toyota produces the Avanza and Kijang Innova minivans in Indonesia. Toyota held an over 30 percent share of Indonesia's automobile market in 2010, which totaled about 750,000 vehicles.
