Toyota Motor said yesterday that it will invest an additional $ 380 million (currently about 2.706 billion yuan) in a plant in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato to adjust its production process to new demand and that the plant will produce Tacoma pickups using hybrid power in the future.
▲ Photo source: Toyota
Toyota said in a statement, “This means that the Guanajuato plant will now be part of the company’s electrification production strategy.”
Since the plant was announced, Toyota has invested nearly $1.2 billion (currently about R8.535 billion) in Guanajuato and says the plant now provides more than 2,500 jobs. The announcement comes after Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue visited Japan.
According to Reuters, while Mexico is a major auto manufacturing center that produces a large number of electric cars each year, many of them are exported to developed countries such as the United States. For drivers in most parts of Mexico, electric cars are still too expensive and lacking in practicality because the country lacks a good network of charging stations.
In March, Tesla said it would open a super factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León as the company looks to expand its global production.
