Toyota Brings Fifth Thailand Assembly Plant on Line

Toyota boosts its production in Thailand to 770,000 units a year with the Aug. 26 opening of the TB11 billion ($344 million) Gateway 2 assembly plant in Chachoengsao province.

The 1.9-million sq.-ft. (175,000-sq.-m) facility, Toyota’s fifth in the country, will assemble cars with annual production capacity of 80,000 units. It employs 1,500 workers.

It joins the original Gateway plant in Chachoengsao province that also manufactures cars, the commercial-vehicle-building Ban Pho factory in Chachoengsao province and Samrong facility in Samut Prakan, and the recently opened Toyota Auto Works in Samut Prakan province that produces vans.

Toyota exports vehicles to 119 countries from its Thai facilities. It is the dominant brand in the country, selling 271,482 units in the year’s first seven months for a 32.4% market share.