Toyota to build cars in Russian Far East

TOKYO: Toyota Motor will tie up with trading house Mitsui&Co and Russian automaker Sollers to assemble passenger cars in the Far East port city of Vladivostok, the Nikkei daily said Thursday.

Toyota will provide parts and production technologies, with the vehicles to be assembled by a joint venture to be built by Mitsui and Sollers, the Nikkei said.

Toyota hopes to expand its operations in Russia while minimising risk by producing parts elsewhere and opting not to invest in the production company for the time being, the Nikkei said.

Mitsui and Sollers are expected to reach a deal on the joint venture as early as this month, the report said.

The Russian automaker's existing factory in Vladivostok is to be upgraded, giving it the capacity to assemble 30,000 Toyota vehicles annually, it said.

Toyota's plan, scheduled to start around next year, would mark the first time that a Japanese automaker has set up a production facility in Russia's Far East region, the Nikkei said.

Toyota has been producing automobiles in Russia since 2007, churning out about 20,000 Camry sedans at its factory in Saint Petersburg.