Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest automaker, may close New United Motor Manufacturing Inc, the California venture abandoned by General Motors Co, as its US sales slump amid the recession.
“We’re considering various options on the plant including whether it’s economically feasible to build cars alone without GM,” the company said in a statement released on Saturday. “We regrettably must seriously consider dissolving the venture under the current business environment.”
Toyota’s response came after GM emerged from bankruptcy to become majority-owned by the US government. The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker aims to decide by the end of July whether to become sole operator of New United Motor, also known as Nummi, after GM quit the venture June 29, a person familiar with the plan said earlier this month.
Nummi, shared by GM and Toyota since 1984, was Toyota’s first US auto-assembly factory and helped the company answer US critics’ objections to imports. Nummi, the only large auto- assembly plant on North America’s West Coast, has the capacity to make 420,000 cars and pickups each year.
Recession and rising unemployment pushed down auto sales by 35 per cent in this year’s first six months, to the lowest since at least 1976, according to Bloomberg data. Toyota’s US sales slipped 38 per cent in the first half.