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Sydney - Toyota said on Monday it would stop making cars in Australia in 2017.
This comes after the car maker recently said it was pressing on with a R1bn investment in production of its new Corolla model in South Africa, as part of an expansion that began in 2012.
The development is the culmination of several years of planning and preparation, and more than R1bn of direct investment in the production capabilities of the Toyota Durban manufacturing plant in Prospecton
Late last year General Motors Holden said it was following fellow US manufacturer Ford Motor Company and shutting up shop in Australia.
Toyota, which exports half of production from its Melbourne plant, had warned at the time that it too could exit Australia.
Being the sole local manufacturer would "place unprecedented pressure on the local supplier network and our ability to build cars in Australia", the firm said.
Announcing the decision to join General Motors and Ford - Mitsubishi left in 2008 -Toyota Australia boss Max Yasuda blamed low economies of scale and the strength of the Australian dollar against other currencies.
"We did everything we could to transform our business, but the reality is that there are too many factors beyond our control that make it unviable to build cars in Australia," he said in a statement.
