(Reuters) – Automaker Toyota Motor will invest $1.34 billion to develop a plant to produce a fully electrified vehicle in Argentina, Economy Minister Luis Caputo said on Wednesday.
This represents the largest ever single investment in the country’s automotive industry, Caputo said.
- Caputo said the project, in Zarate in Buenos Aires province, had been approved by the government committee that evaluates applications for Argentina’s RIGI incentive regime for large investments.
- He said the plant would generate $1.28 billion in annual exports, with about 70% of output destined for foreign markets.
- He said the project would create more than 3,600 jobs during construction and more than 2,600 direct and indirect jobs once operations begin.
- The move would extend Toyota’s manufacturing footprint in Argentina, where the Japanese automaker has operated a plant in Zarate since 1997. Toyota says the site currently produces the Hilux pickup and SW4 sport utility vehicle, and began making the Hiace van there in 2024.
- Automakers are doubling down on Latin America investments as they face intensifying competition from Chinese imports globally.
- French automaker Renault announced a new pick-up model earlier this month which will be fully will be assembled at its Cordoba plant in northern Argentina.
Reporting by Iñigo Alexander; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Kylie Madry
