Toyota to Set Up Plant in Myanmar

May 27, 2019

Nagoya- Toyota Motor Corp.will build its first automobile assembly plant in Myanmar, with an investment totaling billions of yen, according to informed sources.

Through the plant's construction, which will begin later this year, the leading Japanese automaker aims to tap Myanmar's auto market that is expected to grow rapidly.

The new plant, to be built in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, is planned to assemble thousands of large pickup trucks annually, the sources said.

As the parts industry has yet to be fostered in Myanmar, the plant will produce trucks using parts shipped from neighboring countries and Japan.

In Myanmar, new auto sales totaled some 17,500 units in 2018, double the previous year's level. The economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 6-7 pct in the Southeast Asian country, which has a population of over 50 million.

Previously, used vehicles were mainly sold in Myanmar. As the government introduced tax breaks for locally produced vehicles, expectations are running high for the growth of the country's new auto market.

Suzuki Motor Corp. of Japan, Hyundai Motor Co. of South Korea and Ford Motor Co. of the United States are among the foreign automakers that have made inroads into Myanmar. Jiji Press