Toyota to open second factory in Brazil

Toyota is to open a second factory in Brazil in three years' time to make a small car suited to the booming domestic market, and for export, Brazilian officials said Tuesday.The plant, which will turn out 150,000 vehicles a year, will be built for more than "600 to 700 million dollars," Industry Minister Miguel Jorge said, without specifying the total investment amount.The financial newspaper Valor Economico recently flagged the factory plans, saying Toyota planned to spend one billion dollars on the installation.Toyota's Latin America director Shozo Hasebe detailed the plans in a meeting Tuesday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.He said the plant would be built in the town of Sorocaba, near the southwestern city of Sao Paulo, and employ 2,500 workers.