A ceremony at Toyota’s new manufacturing facility here officially kicked-off production of the RAV4 sport utility vehicle. The plant represents an investment of CAN$1.1 billion and boosts Toyota’s investment in Canada to approximately CAN$5.6 billion.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toyota Motor Corporation President Katsuaki Watanabe presided over the event, which was attended by local officials, the 1,200 team members who are building RAV4, and hundreds of supplier representatives.
“We started production in nearby Cambridge almost exactly 20 years ago, and this Woodstock plant shows our commitment to Canada is continuing,” Watanabe said.
The Woodstock plant is the only location outside of Japan where the RAV4 is built.
Toyota (NYSE:TM) currently produces 12 vehicles in North America, including the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, RAV4, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and the Lexus RX350. With the start-up in Woodstock, Toyota has 14 plants with the annual capacity to build approximately 2 million cars and trucks as well as engines and transmissions.
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