Japanese automaker Toyota Motor (TMC) is planning to build a new $285m transmission-production facility in the Changshu Southeast Economic Development Zone, Jiangsu Province, China.
The facility known as Toyota Motor (Changshu) Auto Parts (TMCAP) is scheduled to start in September 2014 and will have have an initial production capacity of 240,000 units per year.
The 140,000m2 TMCAP facility will mainly manufacture continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) for the company's gasoline-engine vehicles with small engine displacement to enhance driving performance while improving fuel efficiency.
TMCAP president Hirokazu Yase said, "By producing CVTs in China, we will be able to provide high-performance, fuel-efficient cars to even more consumers in China."
According to the company, the new facility will be located about two kilometers northwest of the Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China) (TMEC) R&D site which is currently being built in Changshu.
Toyota decided to start the production of CVT in China in a bid to meet the expected demand for small-engine vehicles in the country.
