A Chinese auto worker inspects a new Vios sedan at a Toyota car plant in Tianjin
Toyota Motor is likely to make 120,000 more cars a year in Tianjin as part of a medium-term strategy that's gathering pace as China-Japan ties improve.
The Japanese auto maker's plan to boost annual production capacity by about a quarter in the port city will lay the foundation to increase sales in China to two million vehicles per year, a jump of over 50%.
Toyota Motor Corp. autos sit at the at the port of Tianjin
The Tianjin expansion signals Toyota's willingness to start adding significant manufacturing capacity in China with the possibility of one or two new assembly plants in the world's biggest auto market. Car imports could also increase.
The move comes at a time when China's trade outlook with the United States appears fraught and uncertain.
A Toyota car assembly manufacturing line at Tianjin FAW Toyota Factory in Tianjin
Toyota plans to significantly expand its sales networks and focus more on electric car technologies as part of the strategy.
Toyota sold 1.29 million vehicles in China last year and while sales are projected at 1.4 million this year, "capacity constraints" have restricted stronger growth, the sources said.
Toyota's manufacturing hub in Tianjin currently has the capacity to produce 510,000 vehicles a year, while Toyota as a whole, between two joint ventures, has overall capacity to churn out 1.16 million vehicles a year.
Manufacturing capacity numbers provided by automakers are called straight-time capacity without overtime. With overtime, a given assembly plant can produce 20 to 30 percent more than its capacity.
A Toyota Mirai car is seen during a presentation at the 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai
Toyota has been given regulatory approval by the municipal government's Development and Reform Commission to pursue its expansion. Plans to expand its Tianjin base to be able to manufacture 10,000 all-electric battery cars and 110,000 so-called plug-in electric hybrids annually.
It wasn't immediately clear when Toyota will be able to start producing those additional cars.
The Tianjin facilities, which produces cars such as the Toyota Corolla and Vios cars, are owned and operated by one of Toyota's joint ventures in China.
The venture with FAW Group Corp in Tianjin plans to invest 1.76 billion yuan for the expansion, according to the two Tianjin websites.
A Chinese auto worker inspects a new Vios sedan at a Toyota car plant in Tianjin
Toyota Motor Corp. autos sit at the at the port of Tianjin
A Toyota car assembly manufacturing line at Tianjin FAW Toyota Factory in Tianjin
A Toyota Mirai car is seen during a presentation at the 16th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai
