According to reports, Asahi Glass is considering expanding a factory it has just started building in Brazil, in order to double the facility’s planned output of automotive glass.

The company anticipates a strong increase in local demand for glass as the nation’s middle class grows and more car manufacturers build vehicles in the region.

“We are prepared to boost production capacity,” said President Kazuhiko Ishimura. “We hope to do so early, in 2015 or later,” he added.

The factory being built in the state of São Paulo will reportedly start shipments in the July-September quarter of 2013. Under the initial plan, the facility was planned to have the capacity to produce 220,000 tons of construction glass annually. It was also expected to produce automotive glass for 500,000 vehicles a year. Now the company is considering lifting that to 1 million vehicles a year.