Regulators may reject proposed Toyota JV

Chinese regulators will probably reject an application by Toyota (TM.NYSE, TYT.LSE, 7203.TYO) for a joint venture in the country, because it would exceeed the current two-partnership maximum for passenger car companies, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The Japanese automaker owns a 16.5% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries (7270.TYO), the maker of Subaru-brand cars, which is applying to manufacture cars with Chery Automobile in China. However, sources told Bloomberg that Chinese regulators consider Fuji to be a part of Toyota, which already has partnerhsips with China FAW Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group (2238.HK). Executives from Fuji dispute that Toyota has a controlling stake in the company. “The government is concerned about overcapacity of the auto industry and has been focused on slowing down automakers’ expansion pace,” said Han Weiqi, an analyst with CSC International Holdings.