Tokyo, Japan, May 29, 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota Motor Corporation ('TMC'; TSE:7203) announced today that UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd. (UMWT) has begun exporting the Hiace produced at Assembly Services Sdn. Bhd. (ASSB)* to Thailand.

A ceremony to mark the start of exports was held today at ASSB in Selangor Darul Ehsan. Many honored guests were in attendance, including Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Tadashi Imai. Also present were TMC Senior Managing Director Akira Okabe, UMWT Chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Deputy Chairman Yoshimi Ishii and Managing Director David Chen.

In his speech, Okabe said, "The start of Hiace exports to Thailand is a very historical event in Toyota's operation in Malaysia. This is in line with the Malaysian automotive policy announced in March. We at Toyota will continue to make efforts to strengthen our manufacturing operations and to contribute to the development of the Malaysian auto industry." read more.