Toyota Confirms Three-Year Freeze on New Plants

Toyota Motor Corp. confirms it will suspend plans to build any new factories through March 2016. The Nikkei reported on the move last month.

The plan does not affect new engine and assembly plant construction already under way. Those projects include facilities to open next year in Indonesia and in mid-2015 in Brazil.

Toyota will focus over the next four years on maximizing the use of its existing factories and equipment to control fixed costs. The goal is to generate steady profits regardless of fluctuating exchange rates.