Toyota invests $95 million

Toyota invests $95 million

MANILA (AFP): Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor Corp. is to invest 2.5 billion pesos (US$95 million) to expand manufacturing operations for automotive parts in the Philippines, an official of Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. said yesterday.

Transmission production by Toyota Autoparts Manufacturing Corp. would rise 25 percent to 250,000 units a year with the infusion of 1.5 billion pesos, Toyota Philippines senior vice president Florencio Jurado told reporters.

Part of the investment will also go to the production of constant velocity joints, he said. Ninety-five percent of the subsidiary's production is exported to Southeast Asia.

The balance of one billion pesos will be used to produce inner and outer panels for its Tamaraw utility vehicle, Jurado said. The outer panels are now being imported, he added.