Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday started production at its new plant in Tianjin, China, putting it in the lead of all Japanese automakers in terms of production capacity in China.

Now with Toyota's third Tianjin plant, Toyota will be able to produce 643,000 units a year in China. Honda, the No.2 Japanese automaker in Japan, produces 530,000.

Toyota invested 57 billion yen($479M) to build its latest plant. It will primarily manufacture the 1.8-liter-engine Corolla, aiming to produce 60,000 per year from the facility.

The car maker is trying to become more competitive in the Chinese automotive market by producing the components in China. The plant becomes Toyota's sixth plant located in China.

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