Toyota mulls over $500 million investment into Texas plant

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor's North America arm is seeking tax relief for a potential project totaling $531.7 million in investments at its Texas facility, which manufactures the Toyota Tundra pickup truck and Sequoia SUV, the company said on Tuesday.

Major automakers are now refocusing their efforts and investments on hybrid and gasoline-powered vehicles with better profit margins, after slowing demand for electric vehicles prompted them to cut financial commitments towards such models.

"We are constantly evaluating our competitiveness and making decisions to support the potential for continued investments across our North American operations...," Toyota said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Toyota did not provide additional details on the investment.

San Antonio Express-News first reported on the investment earlier in the day. The report, citing public record filings, said Toyota plans to construct a new building, add 411 jobs and potentially expand its existing plant in San Antonio, Texas.

The Japanese automaker has invested $4.2 billion in the San Antonio plant since 2003 and employs more than 3,700 workers at the facility, which began production in 2006.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)