Toyota Motor Corp. is finalizing plans for its first car plant in Mexico, which could be approved by its board as early as next month, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
The plant would make the popular Corolla compact sedan and begin production in 2019. Based on recent investments by rivals, including Volkswagen, a new assembly plant would represent an investment of over $1 billion for Toyota.
A green light for the plant would signal an end to a three-year expansion freeze imposed by the automaker's president, Akio Toyoda, who has blamed aggressive expansion a decade ago for contributing to quality lapses and a 2009 recall crisis.