NEWS: Toyota gets bigger

By Michael Banovsky

Well, it’s no secret that Toyota intends to fight the “Big 3” on their own soil – in fact, nearly all of their cars sold in North America are produced here. And after a fierce bidding war between Ontario communities, Woodstock was on top of the lumber pile. Press release is as follows:

“WOODSTOCK, Ontario (June 30, 2005) – Toyota announced today that it will construct a new plant here employing 1,300 team members to build the RAV4 sport utility vehicle. The new plant represents an approximate C$800 million/US$650 million investment and will be Toyota’s second Canadian assembly plant. It is the first green field automotive assembly facility in Canada in almost 20 years.

Additionally, Toyota announced an expansion of Canadian Autoparts Toyota, Inc. (CAPTIN) in Delta, British Columbia. As a result of the C$39.0 million/US$31.6 million expansion, wheel capacity at the facility will increase by nearly 17 percent per year, starting in July 2007.

The new plant will open in 2008 and will have the capacity to build 100,000 units annually. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Canada, Inc. (TMMC) in nearby Cambridge, Ontario, will manage the plant. TMMC builds the Toyota Corolla and Matrix and the Lexus RX330 in Cambridge, where it employs 4,300 team members.

This new facility will boost Toyota’s manufacturing employment in Ontario to about 5,600.

By 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build 1.76 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines, and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America. The company’s direct employment is 37,000 and direct investment is nearly US$16.6 billion with annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totaling nearly US$25 billion. Toyota’s North American-produced vehicles include the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra,
and the Lexus RX330.”