In a move that marks Japanese automaker Toyota’s very first plant closure, either in Japan or abroad, the company has decided to shut down a Fremont, California plant known as NUMMI. Toyota once ran the plant as a joint venture with General Motors, but when GM had to pull out of the deal, Toyota decided that it could not afford to keep the plant open alone.
 
New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., which produces Toyota Corolla cars and Tacoma pickups, will shut down in March 2010. According to Toyota, which had previously vowed not to close down any of its plants, the …read more

Although Toyota once operated the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. auto-assembly plant as part of a joint venture with General Motors, GM’s bankruptcy forced it to pull out of the plant. This has left Toyota with the difficult decision regarding whether or not it should close the plant, especially after its CEO promised that it would not close any of its North America plants.
However, Toyota has announced that it will make the decision “quite soon,” depending on whether or not the plant will receive aid from California lawmakers, as well as on an analysis of the plant’s financial viability. Toyota …read more

Before the global economic crisis, GM and Toyota jointly operated the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in California. GM’s bankruptcy and restructuring, though, has led it to pull out of the vehicle-assembly plant, leaving Toyota to decide whether or not it will be a wise decision to renew its contract with the manufacturers.
 
GM and Toyota established the NUMMI operation in 1984, but ever since then, the venture has mostly lost money for both companies. Toyota posted in first annual loss in 58 years last year, marking relatively dire straits for a historically successful company. Slow vehicle sells and …read more