丰田无限期推迟在美国工厂建设
Toyota Delays Miss. Prius Factory As Sales Fall 2008年12月16日 Toyota Motor Corp. has indefinitely delayed a plant in Mississippi that was slated to start making its Prius hybrid sedan in May 2010, the latest sign that even foreign auto makers are scaling back North American operations.Toyota approved the plant in 2007, when sales were booming and foreign makers were racing to expand production to grab market share from the Big Three U.S. car companies. But the recession and plunge in industry sales to crisis levels are forcing even healthier car companies to retreat.
'The market turned on Toyota just like it turned on the Big Three,' said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm.
On Friday, Honda Motor Co. announced its fourth round of production cuts in North America this year. All told, the Japanese company has cut output by 175,000 vehicles, or 12%, from its original plans. It is the equivalent of one factory's annual production and a surprisingly large reduction for a company that had posted record sales earlier this year.
General Motors Corp. said recently it would slash production by about 250,000 vehicles, or some 30% of its North American assembly volume, in the first quarter.
Foreign auto makers have been expanding North American production for two decades. BMW AG of Germany plans a $750 million expansion of its South Carolina plant, although it recently laid off several hundred temporary workers due to the weak auto market. Kia Motors of South Korea is building a plant in Georgia, its first U.S. factory, and said Monday it is on track to open a year from now.
Volkswagen AG plans to build a Tennessee plant that will assemble a new sedan in the second half of 2011. The plant, which will have a 250,000-vehicle capacity, would mark the German maker's return to U.S. assembly after closing a Pennsylvania factory in the late 1980s.
Toyota's Mississippi plant, near Tupelo, was originally supposed to build the Highlander sport-utility vehicle. When gasoline prices soared in the spring, it pushed the start of production to May 2010 from late 2009 and then said the plant would produce the Prius instead. The latest delay means that the Prius will continue to be produced exclusively in Japan.
The company said it would complete construction of the building but would hold off on installing production equipment. So far, Toyota said it has invested $300 million of the plant's estimated cost of $1.3 billion. 'Due to the uncertainty of the market, it is impossible to say at this time when production will begin,' the company said in a statement.
Kate Linebaugh 丰田无限期推迟美国工厂建设 丰田汽车已经无限期推迟美国密西西比州一家工厂的建设，该厂原计划从2010年5月开始生产丰田普锐斯混合动力轿车。这再次显示出，外国汽车制造商也开始缩减北美地区的业务。
2007年丰田批准了这家工厂的组建。当时汽车销量剧增，外国厂商都在拼命扩大生产，从美国汽车三巨头手里攫取市场份额。但是，随着衰退和汽车销量暴跌至危机水平，即便是财务状况较好的汽车厂商也不得不撤退了。
预测公司IHS Global Insight的分析师丽贝卡?林德兰德 说，市场对丰田“翻脸”了，就像对三巨头做的一样。
Associated Press
2008年2月丰田在密西西比工厂的奠基仪式本田汽车上周五宣布，将在北美地区进行今年的第四轮减产。今年以来，本田共计减产17.5万辆，约为原计划的12%。这相当于一家工厂一年的产量，对今年早些时候还公布了创纪录的销量的本田来说，减产规模可谓惊人。
通用汽车最近表示，明年第一季度将减产约25万辆，约为北美地区组装量的三成。
最近二十年来，外国汽车制造商一直在扩大北美地区的生产。德国的宝马汽车计划斥资7.5亿美元扩建南卡罗来纳州的一家工厂，不过由于汽车市场的不景气，该公司最近裁减了数百名临时工。韩国的起亚汽车正在乔治亚州建自己的第一家美国工厂，该公司周一表示厂子有望在一年后投产。
大众汽车计划于2011年下半年在田纳西州新建一家工厂，组装一款新轿车。该厂年生产能力为25万辆，标志着在上世纪80年代末关闭了宾夕法尼亚州的一家工厂后，大众汽车重返美国的汽车组装业务。
丰田在密西西比州的工厂位于图珀洛附近，原本计划生产丰田汉兰达运动型多用途车。今年春季油价飙升的时候，丰田将投产时间从2009年底推迟到了2010年5月，之后又表示该厂将转而生产普锐斯。普锐斯工厂建设的推迟意味着这款车仍将只在日本生产。
丰田表示，将完成厂房的建设，但是会暂停生产设备的安装。该公司称，现在已经投入了13亿美元建设成本中的3亿美元。丰田在一份声明中表示，由于市场的不确定性，现在很难说工厂何时投产。
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