Toyota Motor Corp. will start building an assembly plant this year in Myanmar, where demand for new cars has been growing strongly after import restrictions on used vehicles were tightened in 2017.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Toyota will invest several billion yen in the plant in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone on the outskirts of Yangon. The facility will focus on pickup trucks.

In Myanmar, new car sales doubled to around 17,000 units in 2018. Suzuki Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. already have plants there.