Czech Toyota-Peugeot venture to boost output-paper

...the company's chief was quoted as saying in a newspaper published on Thursday.

Yasuhiro Takahashi told the business weekly Ekonom in an interview that the firm might alter working shifts and make other changes to raise productivity and boost capacity to some 310,000 from 300,000 cars a year curently.

Last year, Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile (TPCA) Czech produced more than 290,000 vehicles, he said.

"We have a planned annual capacity of 300,000 cars a year, but Toyota as well as Peugeot-Citroen vendors are inquiring whether we could not produce even more," Takahasi said.

"I assume we could get to roughly 310,000," he added.

He also said TPCA expected to maintain its annual turnover at 1.7 billion-1.8 billion euros ($2.28 billion-$2.42 billion) this year, roughly flat from last year.

The auto industry, dominated by Volkswagen unit Skoda Auto and TPCA and a number of other foreign investors, has been an engine of Czech exports and helped drive the country's economy to record growth of 6.1 percent annually last year.