广汽集团官方7月2日宣布，公司已同意合营企业广汽丰田汽车有限公司扩大产能及增加产品品种二期建设项目。这一项目新增投资24.5亿元，资金来源由广汽丰田自筹解决。2017广汽丰田全年终端零售销量超44万辆，超额完成全年销售目标。为缓解产能压力与导入全新TNGA架构，企业新建的第三生产线也于今年1月投产，初期年产能10万台。此外，车厂还组建了另外两条生产线，总计年产能38万辆。一旦第三条生产线完成，广汽丰田总的年产能将增至60万辆。除了扩充产能，增加产品品种也是二期建设项目的重点。据报道，广汽丰田紧凑型SUV一直处于空缺状态。丰田在华投放的紧凑型SUV“RAV4”目前由一汽丰田进行生产并销售。此外，丰田全新一代RAV4已于海外发布，这款新车未来也将引入国内。全新丰田RAV4据说将由广汽丰田和一汽丰田发布。新车基于TNGA平台，结合了丰田FT-AC概念车的元素，并提供两种不同的前脸设计。此外，全新RAV4还提供了两种动力系统。其中传统化石燃料版本搭载一台2.5升自然进气引擎，搭配新的八速自动变速器。而混动版包括一台电机和2.5升自然进气引擎，搭配ECVT变速箱。
GAC Toyota to add RMB 2.45 billion to enlarge capacity, introduce new SUV model
Chinese automaker GAC Group has agreed a project that allows GAC Toyota to expand its production capacity and introduce more models, the group announced on July 2. The project involves an additional investment of RMB 2.45 billion, which should be raised by GAC Toyota itself.
GAC Toyota saw its annual retail sales volume exceeding 440,000 vehicles in 2017, surpassing its initial sales goal. To ease the capacity pressure and introduce the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platforms, the third assembly line of the Sino-Japanese joint venture was put into operation in January this year with an initial capacity of 100,000 vehicles on an annual basis. In addition, the automaker has another two assembly lines possessing annual capacity of 380,000 vehicles in total. Once the capacity of the third assembly line is completely released, the total capacity of GAC Toyota will increase to 600,000 vehicles per year.
Apart from capacity expansion, new products introduction will be another highlight of this project. Reportedly, GAC Toyota has been facing a paucity of SUV models. Toyota has brought a compact crossover SUV model dubbed RAV4 in China, while it is produced and sold by FAW-Toyota, the Japanese automaker's another joint venture in China. Moreover, the all-new Toyota RAV4 has been launched outside China, which is expected to enter the world's largest auto market in the future.
The all-new Toyota RAV4 will purportedly be introduced by both GAC Toyota and FAW-Toyota. Based on the TNGA platform, the new model incorporates some design elements of the FT-AC (future Toyota adventure concept) in its exterior and offers two types of front end design. In addition, the all-new RAV4 provides two powertrain variants. The traditional fossil-fuel-powered version carries a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine, which is paired with a new 8-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid power system is equipped with a motor and a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine matched with an electro continuously variable transmission (ECVT).