Toyota to build new plants in India and China

Toyota is well on its way to becoming the world's number one car manufacturer, and the latest news is that the Japanese giant is planning to add new factories in India, China and the US be as early as 2009. The company is already growing at a pace of half a million cars a year, and now the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the combined annual output of the three regions will add another 450,000 units to this tally.

The first plant to open will be in India, with a capacity of 150,000 units of mainly budget econo cars that includes an all new minicar to be sold in India and other emerging markets. Like Ford's “Way Forward,” Toyota has its own "Global Master Plan," which stipulates that the company plans to attain a 15% share of the global car market by 2010 or roughly 10 million units annually.

The second region is China's Guangzhou, where Toyota will produce 100,000 units per year and plans to produce the Yaris small car in addition to the Chinese version of the Camry. Toyota will likely produce its RAV4 and Highlander SUVs in China as well.