Toyota, Honda To Build Us Plants

Japanese auto makers Toyota Motor Co and Honda Motor Co are planning to build at least one more assembly plant each in North America, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the companies.

The new investments would be started even before the companies' factories that are now under construction are completed, the paper said in its yesterday's electronic edition.

Toyota plans to build a fifth assembly plant in the US or Canada, the paper said, citing the company's international operations executive vice president Akira Yokoi.

The company also plans to double the capacity of a truck factory it is building in Indiana and buy out General Motors' share of their jointly owned factory in Fremont, California, the executive also told the paper. As for Honda, the company is scouting sites for a fourth assembly plant in the U.S. or Canada, the paper said it was told by people familiar with the company's plans.

The size of such a plant is not known, the paper said. It added, however, that a typical Honda start-up has initial capacity to make about 100,000 vehicles a year.