ST PETERSBURG, March 13 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will halt production at its Russian factory between March 30 and April 6, the automaker said on Friday, the latest in a wave of suspensions brought on by plummeting demand.
The plant, opened in 2007 to produce 20,000 Toyota Camry vehicles per year and which cost 5 billion roubles ($141.7 million) to build, will be closed due to the "prolonged and difficult economic situation on the market," the Japanese major said in a statement.
A collapse in the Russia car market deepened last month with sales down 38 percent year-on-year after a 33 percent fall in January, according to data from the Association of European Businesses, which said the downward spiral was set to continue.
The decline in Toyota's sales was even more severe, falling 43 percent in February year on year, the data showed.
Analysts expect the market to decline by 40 to 50 percent in 2009.
Vehicle sales in Russia, which was set to become Europe's largest car market in 2009, began to contract sharply late last year when the price of consumer credit soared due to the global banking crisis.
Most of Toyota's peers in Russia have also idled their assembly lines in the past four months, with Russia's Kamaz imposing four suspensions since November. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Simon Shuster; Editing by David Holmes)