Good news for Canada’s automotive industry as Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is announcing that it is adding production of one or more new models at its Cambridge, Ontario assembly plant.
The "North Plant" as it is known in Cambridge, about 100 kilometres west of Toronto, currently builds the RAV4, one of North America's best-selling crossover vehicles. Toyota on Monday is announcing a "significant production announcement" that “will serve to further re-affirm Toyota's commitment to manufacturing in Canada.”
Bloomberg News has reported that Toyota is planning to add production of the upmarket Lexus NX crossover vehicle and the Lexus RX sport utility vehicle to the Cambridge plant. Last year (2018), Toyota invested $1.4 billion in its plants in Cambridge and also in Woodstock, Ontario, switching them over to what it calls its "New Global Architecture," the platform that underpins many of Toyota's future products. That means the two Ontario assembly plants have the flexibility to change production models.
The Japanese automaker recently cast doubt on how long these plants would make the Rav4 after it announced it would eventually move production of the gas-electric model to Georgetown, Kentucky.
The announcement of production concerning new Toyota models is welcome news for the Ontario automotive industry, where passenger vehicle production is shrinking.
General Motors (NYSE:GM) is winding down its operations in Oshawa and expects to close the plant there by the end of 2019 as part of a global restructuring plan. About 2,500 auto workers will lose their jobs in Oshawa. And Fiat Chrysler has announced that it is cutting the third shift at its Windsor plant, threatening 1,500 jobs.
Toyota shares opened in New York up 12 cents to $123.74 U.S.
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