WOODSTOCK, Ontario (June 30, 2005) – Toyota (NYSE: TM) 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.
Katsuaki Watanabe, named president of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) on June 23, discussed the new investment via videotape broadcast during the announcement.
"Twenty years ago, Toyota management made two profound decisions. We decided to make a sweeping commitment to manufacturing in North America. And we decided that Canada would be a core part of that commitment," he said. "This expansion will strengthen our ties further with suppliers and with other partners across North America."
Atsushi Niimi, the recent former president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) and now a senior managing director of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), noted the benefits of the Woodstock location.
"This location allows us to capitalize on our outstanding operation 40 kilometres away in Cambridge. Its proximity to suppliers on both sides of the border will benefit both countries and it will mean new opportunities for those suppliers. Jobs will be created across North America," he said.
TMMC president Ray Tanguay, recently named a TMC managing officer, applauded the efforts and success of the existing Canadian work force and the job creation efforts of government officials.
"Today's announcement is truly a milestone," he said. "It is recognition of almost 17 years of manufacturing success in Cambridge, Ontario and opens the page to a whole new chapter for Toyota in Canada. As a Toyota team member, I am obviously pleased. As a Canadian, I can't think of a better way to kick off a national holiday."
TMMC has been manufacturing vehicles in Cambridge since November 1988. Original capacity was 50,000 units annually. By 2004, production had climbed to 288,000 units.
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.
