US: Toyota says no decision yet on Prius build at NUMMI plant
By: Glenn Brooks, Friday, May 30, 2008, AutomotiveWorld.com
Toyota has issued a statement after a Japanese newspaper claimed build of the Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car will be added at the NUMMI plant it operates with General Motors at Fremont in San Francisco's Bay Area. The company says as yet, no decision has been taken.
"We are always considering the best places for production, but nothing has been decided about producing the Prius at NUMMI," a statement issued by the Japanese OEM says.
The 30 May edition of the Tokyo Shimbun claims the northern Californian plant, the official name of which is New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated, will gain Prius production as part of Toyota's stated plans to lift global build of hybrid vehicles to more than a million units a year.
The third generation Prius is due in 2009. With the current model a huge and growing success in the US, its largest market, it would make far more sense for Toyota to build or assemble it locally so as to minimise its exposure to the volatile yen-dollar exchange rate. Currently, all units of the vehicle are imported from Japan.
In April, eyebrows were raised when the Prius overtook many US-made vehicles to become the US' eighth best selling car, with sales of 21,757 units. This was also only 873 units behind the model in seventh place, Nissan's Altima.
NUMMI, which builds the Toyota Tacoma pick-up as well as the Corolla and a rebodied version of the latter for GM, the Pontiac Vibe, was opened in its current form in 1984. A former GM plant, it has become a showcase for US manufacturing joint ventures and was the country's first such JV.
Published on Friday, May 30, 2008
Free e-newsletters
Our free E-Newsletter service is an excellent way of staying up to date with news and features from around the global auto industry.
