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ReprintsReport: Toyota plans $5,000 car
Hans Greimel
Automotive News Europe
November 10, 2008 06:01 CET
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is joining the cheap-car race with a $5,000 vehicle geared toward emerging markets such as India and Brazil, a Japanese newspaper reported. Toyota will develop the car with its small-car subsidiary, Daihatsu, and build the car by 2015 in Bangalore, India, the Asahi newspaper reported. The move puts Toyota into competition with Nissan-Renault and Tata Motors, which plan inexpensive cars for booming developing markets. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment on the report. The car might be exported to Brazil from India, Asahi said. It will be sold under a new fourth brand rolled out in addition to Toyota, Lexus and Scion, presumably to quarantine the car's downmarket image. Toyota has one plant in Bangalore and is building another with annual capacity for 100,000 vehicles. The second factory will open in 2010. |
You can reach Hans Greimel at hgreimel@crain.com.
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