Monday’s announcement will ‘further re-affirm Toyota’s commitment to manufacturing in Canada’
Toyota Canada is expected to announce production of one or more new models for its Cambridge, Ont., plant on Monday.
The North Plant in the city, 100 kilometres west of Toronto, currently builds the RAV4 crossover, one of North America’s best-selling crossover vehicles.
On Friday, Toyota said it planned a “significant production announcement” on April 29 that “will serve to further re-affirm Toyota’s commitment to manufacturing in Canada.”
Bloomberg is reporting Toyota is considering production of the upmarketLexus NX crossover and the Lexus RX sport utility vehicle in Ontario.
A Toyota Canada spokesperson denied two new models were involved, but declined to be more specific about the announcement.
Last year Toyota invested $1.4 billion in its plants in Cambridge and also in Woodstock, switching them over to what it calls its New Global Architecture, the platform that underpins many of Toyota’s future products.
That means they 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 produce the gas-electric model in Georgetown, Kentucky.
The announcement of new models would be welcome news for the Ontario auto industry, where passenger vehicle production is shrinking.
GM is winding down its operations in Oshawa and expects to close by the end of the year as part of a global restructuring plan. About 2,500 people will lose their jobs.
And Fiat Chrysler announced it will cut the third shift at its Windsor plant in September, threatening another 1,500 jobs.
