TOKYO -- Toyota has trimmed investment plans for a pickup factory in Mexico after the Japanese automaker decided to also build a new U.S. auto plant with partner Mazda.
Toyota said it will now spend about $700 million on the factory under construction in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato rather the $1 billion it originally budgeted.
Annual capacity at the plant, which originally was for the Corolla sedan but has shifted to the Tacoma pickup, was cut in half to 100,000 trucks per year vs. 200,000 Corollas, a company spokesperson said Wednesday.
"The new investment figure does not change our long-term commitment to Mexico," the spokesperson said. "However, change is necessary in order to secure the long-term viability of our facility and our operations."
The Guanajuato plant is scheduled to open in late 2019 and could be expanded at a future date.
Toyota said the decision to cutback initial capacity at the Guanajuato plant was made in order to balance capacity with demand.
Toyota is in the final stages of expanding Tacoma capacity at its current Mexican plant in Tijuana to 160,000 units a year from 100,000 beginning in early 2018.
When Toyota and Mazda announced their partnership at a factory to be built in the U.S., Toyota said the Corolla will be built there and Mazda would build a small crossover.
