The return of the French car: North American Yaris to be built in France

With the strength of the Japanese Yen, it's become increasingly hard for Japanese automakers to turn a profit on vehicles manufactured in Japan. It become even more difficult when these companies are trying to sell a low-margin subcompact vehicle. Some manufactuers, such as Suzuki, have gone as far as to say a reason we don't get the Swift in the U.S./Canada is because they can't figure a way to turn a profit on it. (Mexico does get the Swift, but who's counting?)

Many companies, such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Subaru, for example, have plants in the United States and Mexico that make cars for this market (and some others), which means everything can be paid for in U.S. dollars or Mexican pesos instead of Yen. However, it was recently announced that Toyota was going to manufacture some of its U.S. and Canadian Yaris models in France beginning in May, 2013. Toyota already has a plant in France, and will spend $10 million to update the factory for the impending Yaris production. It is estimated that 25,000 Yaris models will come out of France in 2013. Oui Oui!

SOURCE
Reuters