January 7, 2008 -- Japanese carmakers will manufacture more automobiles in the so-called BRIC nations than in North America as early as 2011, according to their production schedules, which include plans to build new factories and boost output in Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Corporate plans show that their collective production in the BRIC countries will increase to 5.4 million units in the early 2010s, compared to the 2 million made there in 2006. In contrast, their total output in North America is projected to grow only gradually to around 4.8 million vehicles from 4 million in 2006.

Production in Brazil will likely more than double to 400,000 vehicles from 170,000 in 2006. Toyota Motor Corp. (TSE:7203) plans to spend 70-80 billion yen to build its second factory in the country, which is slated to have an annual output capacity of 100,000 units. The auto giant aims to start operations at the new plant in 2011, which would increase the company's total output in Brazil by 170 per cent to 160,000 vehicles annually. Honda Motor Co. (TSE:7267) intends to boost its output in the country by 20 per cent to 120,000 units in 2008.

Toyota became the first Japanese automaker to manufacture cars in Russia when it started production there at the end of last year. It has also announced a plan to build a second plant in the country. Total output by the four Japanese carmakers operating in Russia will likely rise to about 500,000 units in the early 2010s.

In India, combined Japanese production is expected to reach 1.9 million vehicles, with Suzuki Motor Corp. (TSE:7269) boosting output to 1 million units from 600,000 and Nissan Motor Co. (TSE:7201) starting to manufacture compact cars jointly with Renault SA.

In China, Japanese firms will likely build a total of 2.6 million units, up 160 per cent from 2006, with Toyota building a second factory in Guangzhou.

Stronger R&D, purchasing functions

In addition to production, Japanese automakers are expanding development and parts procurement in the BRIC nations.

At the end of this year, Suzuki plans to start exporting compact cars it manufactures in India to Europe in addition to selling them locally. The company also intends to spend 100 billion yen (US$918 million) to open a research and development facility in the country as a first step toward creating a global strategic car.

Nissan aims to speed up vehicle development by establishing a research center in India to take advantage of local software engineers, while Toyota intends to use its second Russian factory as a base for exports and gradually raise the proportion of parts it purchases locally.

Source: Asia Pulse