The Sankei newspaper citing an unnamed company official reported that Toyota Motor Corp will freeze construction plans for new factories in Russia and Thailand amid slumping demand.

Toyota in June said it planned to invest USD 155 million to build the new Thai factory for diesel engines used in pickup trucks in 2010.

The company in December 2007 opened a USD 170 million Camry sedan assembly factory near St Petersburg in Russia. Toyota at the time said it planned to build 20,000 cars in 2008 at the facility.

The report said that Toyota will freeze plans to build a second plant at the location, originally scheduled to begin operations in early 2010, after production at the existing factory fell short of its forecast.

The report said that plunging demand in the US, the world’s biggest auto market, contributed to Toyota on December 22 forecasting its first operating loss since 1938.

(Sourced from Sankei newspaper)