What Are The Benefits To The French Economy Of Toyotas Investment In France?
A number of factors motivated Toyota’s choice of France as a location for the plant. First the company hoped that its new plant would help it to increase its market share in France from 1.1 percent in 1997 to around 5 percent. Second Toyota picked France because the country has long had an indigenous automobile industry which yields an adequate supply of trained labor and technical expertise along with a network of experienced subcontractors. Third the French government reportedly offered considerable subsidies to induce Toyota to invest in the country. These included taxes break the waiving of some social security contributors and financial aid for training the work force. In addition the city of Valenciennes where the plant is located waived or significantly reduced the annual property tax on the site. An estimate suggests that these subsidies reached 10 percent of the value of investment. Fourth one of the most important attractions of France was the priority establishing a presence
