Toyota begins making cars in Myanmar after delay due to coup

BANGKOK (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. says it has begun assembling autos in Myanmar after more than a yearlong delay following a military takeover in February 2021. The factory in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, outside the country’s biggest city, Yangon, is owned by Toyota and its trading arm, Toyota Tsusho. It assembles Hi-Lux pickup trucks and was originally due to turn out 2,500 vehicles a year. Many foreign companies have withdrawn from Myanmar following the military’s seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Toyota is among a number of Japanese companies that have investments in Thilawa.