Initial reports suggested the Japanese automaker was in talks with Mexican officials to select a potential site for a new factory, however later reports suggested company president Akio Toyoda asked the planning committee to re-review the proposal.
“There is a team studying it, but I’ll be honest with you, it’s still far from being an approved project,” Toyota’s head of Latin American operations, Steve St. Angelo, told reporters, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Toyoda had reportedly argued that the company should not build a new factory in Mexico merely to follow competitors. The executive was quoted as dismissing the idea as the “old way” that caused trouble in years past.
St. Angelo suggests Toyoda is focused on sustainable growth, wary of having excess production capacity if there is another recession. Facing ongoing trouble in Europe, many automakers are believed to be cautious of another downturn.
Toyota is already making some moves to help accommodate the current growth in North American demand, adding a third shift at its existing Mexico facility, located near Tijuana, and attempting to stretch capacity at its Sao Paulo, Brazil, plant.
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