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Toyota to build SUV plant in Russia-Nikkei

TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will build a factory in Russia with the aim of starting production of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) in three or four years to penetrate the country's growing car market, a newspaper reported on Monday.

Other details such as the location and planned investment for the plant have not been decided, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said in its evening edition.

No one at Toyota, Japan's top automaker, could be reached for comment due to the company's week-long holidays.

The newspaper said Toyota had sold 8,100 Japan-made Land Cruiser SUVs in Russia last year, and decided that local production was necessary to reach its target of selling 20,000 units annually.

Toyota has set a broader target of selling 800,000 vehicles in Europe by 2005 for a market share of five percent.

Shares in Toyota closed down 0.78 percent at 2,550 yen after the report, while the Nikkei average lost 1.19 percent.