Tokyo - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) is only a formality away from official permission to jointly build passenger cars in China, as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation has approved a co-production agreement between TMC and Tianjin Automobile Xiali Corporation Ltd. (Tianjin Xiali), TMC said today. All that remains is for Tianjin Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Toyota) - the tentative name of the soon-to-start joint venture - to be registered with China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce. 

Under their agreement signed earlier this year, TMC and Tianjin Xiali, a subsidiary of Tianjin Automotive Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Automotive), plan for Tianjin Toyota to manufacture up to 30,000 compact cars annually. Production at the new company, in which total investment will amount to approximately US$100 million, is scheduled to start in 2002. The all-new models to be built will use the same platform as the Vitz and Platz (also known as the Yaris and Echo), which are representative of TMC's new generation of compact cars. They will be sold bearing the Toyota marque. 

Liu Qingmao (chairman of Tianjin Xiali) will serve as chairman of Tianjin Toyota; Takashi Hasegawa (a project general manager of TMC's China Division) will be the company's president.

TMC Technical Support Plan Also Gets Green Light

Also today, the Chinese government approved a plan by TMC to provide technical support to Tianjin Xiali that will help the company introduce a redesigned model. Tianjin Xiali, after receiving know-how assistance from Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. starting in 1987, makes the compact Xiali (known as the Charade in Japan, where it was first manufactured under that name by Daihatsu). 

The TMC technical support plan outlines the production, starting early next year, of a redesigned Xiali to be based on the Platz/Vitz. With continuation of the current Xiali, annual output at Tianjin Xiali will be 120,000 units. The new Xiali, like the present model, is to be marketed under the Tianjin Automotive brand.

The joint-venture project and technical support plan are outlined as follows: 

Outline of TMC-Tianjin Xiali Joint Venture

New company's name: Tianjin Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (tentative)
Location: Tianjin, China
Top executives: Chairman: Liu Qingmao (tentative), President: Takashi Hasegawa (tentative)
Established: Pending registration with China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
Term of joint venture: 30 years
Capitalization: Approximately US$100 million
Share distribution: TMC: 50%; Tianjin Xiali: 50%
Number of employees: 500
Site, floor-space area: Site: 53,000m2; floor space: 30,000m2
Product lineup: New-model compact passenger cars (1,300 cc)
Production capacity: 30,000 units/year
Production start: 2002

TMC Technical Support Plan for Tianjin Xiali

Planned model lineup: Compact Platz/Vitz-based Xiali and current Xiali
Targeted output capacity: 120,000 units/year (production breakdown not yet decided)
Production start of redesigned model: Early 2000 

Reference: Outline of Tianjin Xiali

Company name: Tianjin Automobile Xiali Corporation Ltd.
Address: 355 Nanjing Rd., Nankai District, Tianjin, China
Top executives: Chairman: Liu Qingmao (executive vice president of parent company Tianjin Automobile Industry Corporation)
President: Dong Maoxun
Established: August 1997 (through merger among Tianjin Mini-Car Works,  Internal-Combustion Engine Works and Tianjin Automotive Research Institute—all subsidiaries of the then-called Tianjin Automotive Industrial Corp.
Capitalization: 1.45 billion yuan (about 19 billion yen)
Product lineup: Xiali hatchback and sedan (1,000cc and 1,300cc)
Production capacity: 150,000 units/year

(May 29, 2000)