Toyota opens CVT plant in Changshu
Toyota Motor Corp. launched output of continuously variable transmissions this month at its factory in Changshu in east China's Jiangsu province.
The $431 million (2.7 billion yuan) factory, the first CVT production site Toyota has opened outside of Japan, will have capacity to build up to 240,000 CVTs a year, the company said.
The CVTs will be used in mid-sized and compact cars produced by Toyota's joint ventures with China FAW Group Corp. and Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co.
The first vehicles to be fitted with the transmissions this year are the new Corolla and Levin compact cars, according to Toyota.
The Changshu plant also will produce batteries and converters for conventional hybrid vehicles that Toyota plans to build in China. The components initially will be used in hybrid versions of the Corolla and Levin in 2015.
In the first six months of this year, Toyota and its two Chinese joint ventures sold approximately 456,125 vehicles in China, up 12 percent from a year earlier, according to LMC Automotive.
The CVTs will be used in mid-sized and compact cars produced by Toyota's joint ventures with China FAW Group Corp. and Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co.
The first vehicles to be fitted with the transmissions this year are the new Corolla and Levin compact cars, according to Toyota.
The Changshu plant also will produce batteries and converters for conventional hybrid vehicles that Toyota plans to build in China. The components initially will be used in hybrid versions of the Corolla and Levin in 2015.
In the first six months of this year, Toyota and its two Chinese joint ventures sold approximately 456,125 vehicles in China, up 12 percent from a year earlier, according to LMC Automotive.
