Toyota to End NUMMI Production in March

Speculations on the fate of Toyota's share in the NUMMI joint venture continue, this time with a new report claiming the Japanese manufacturer will end production at the plant in March. Following General Motors' decision to abandon the partnership, Toyota will do the same after all, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun quoted a source familiar with the matter. However, Toyota hasn't confirmed the report so far, so we're still waiting for an official statement to find out whether this is indeed true.

It appears the Japanese manufacturer has already started informing dealerships about its plans to shut down the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. plant. Production of the Tacoma pickup will be moved to San Antonio, Texas, in June, Reuters informed quoting the aforementioned source. Corolla on the other hand will be transferred to Ontario, Canada and to a Japanese plant.

After GM's decision to pull out of the NUMMI joint venture, Toyota let room for interpretation and revealed it is considering all options when it comes to US plant.

"While we respect this decision by GM, the economic and business environment surrounding Toyota is also extremely severe, and so this decision by GM makes the situation even more difficult for Toyota," the Japanese manufacturer said in a release. "We will consider alternatives by taking into account various factors, including the current distressed market conditions, our overall North American manufacturing capacity, and the viability of the facility as a stand-alone operation without GM production."

Toyota new president Akio Toyoda said in early August that a decision is expected this month. "We are still studying the situation and hope to make a decision soon," Toyoda said. "GM's decision to withdraw from the joint venture has created some extremely difficult issues for us to resolve."