TOKYO (AP) – Toyota Motor Corp. is a “good corporate citizen” and intends to work with President-elect Donald Trump to help make America strong, the Japanese automaker’s president, Akio Toyoda, says.
Trump said on Twitter that Toyota would face a “big border tax” if it goes ahead with a plans for a new plant in Mexico. A statement issued by Toyota in the U.S. did not directly address Trump’s tweet, but stressed that the company has been in the U.S. for six decades and that the Mexico plant will not affect jobs or production in the U.S.
Speaking before Trump put out his tweet, Toyoda responded to a question by a reporter at a New Year’s gathering of Japan’s auto industry by saying that he saw Trump’s administration as an “opportunity.”
“I don’t know yet exactly how, but, regardless of who becomes president, our business is about being good corporate citizens. And by becoming good corporate citizens, we are facing the same goal of making America strong. And so we will continue to do our best,” he said.
Toyota’s shares fell 1.7 percent Friday in Tokyo.