Toyota (www.toyota-global.com) has announced that it is to expand its facilities in China. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China) Co Ltd (more commonly referred to as TMEC) is based in the city of Changshu in Jiangsu province.

The plan includes improvements to the existing laboratory facility, the construction of a new laboratory, the creation of a battery evaluation and test facility, and improvements to test tracks on the premises.

These are scheduled to be completed from late 2018 onwards.

Hiroji Onishi, Toyota’s CEO for the China Region, said at a press conference: “Efforts are being directed toward the re-inforcement of local R&D capability for the long term. We hope to train as many local engineers as possible and to develop more cars that would satisfy the needs of our customers in China.”

He added that preparations are underway for Toyota to begin demonstration tests for fuel-cell vehicles in China.