History
The Toyota Motor Corporation announced on December 12, 1985, that it would open a plant in Cambridge, Ontario, one day after announcing it would open another plant in Georgetown, Kentucky called Toyota Motor Manufacturing USA (now called Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky). [1] The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on May 6, 1986. [2]
The first TMMC plant (now called the South Plant) opened on November 30, 1988, producing the Corolla. Through the rest of 1988 the plant would build 153 vehicles. [2]
TMMC announced that it would build its second facility, the North Plant on November 3, 1994. The North Plant opened on August 5, 1997, and Corolla production shifted to the new facility and the South Plant was retooled to produce the Camry Solara which would first roll off the line on June 29, 1998. [2]
Toyota announced on April 5, 2000, that the South Plant was chosen to be an assembly site for the Lexus RX, making it the first plant outside Japan to produce a Lexus brand vehicle. To enable the changeover, production of the Camry Solara was transferred to the Kentucky plant. During the same time period, the North Plant also added the Matrix to its production. After the shakeup and retooling was complete, the first RX rolled off the line on September 26, 2003. [2]
Together the North and South Plants cover 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) in space on 1.62 square kilometres (400 acres).
TMMC's announced on June 30, 2005, that it would open a third facility, in Woodstock, Ontario, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Cambridge to produce the RAV4. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on October 11, 2005. [2] The location was picked due to its educated workforce, proximity to the Cambridge plant, and being adjacent to the major transportation corridors, Highway 401 and Highway 403. Known as the West Plant, the first vehicle produced there rolled off the assembly line on November 3, 2008. [2] The West Plant covers 1,800,000 square feet (170,000 m2) in space on 4.05 square kilometres (1,000 acres).
In July 2011, the federal and provincial governments gave Toyota nearly CA$142 million in grants and loans to upgrade the plants in Woodstock and Cambridge as part of the deal to manufacture the RAV4 EV in Canada. [3]
On March 28, 2012, TMMC announced that CA$80 million would be invested in the West Plant to increase production by 50,000 vehicles a year to a new total of 200,000 vehicles per year. This created 400 new jobs at the plant. [4]
On July 24, 2012, Toyota also created 400 new jobs at the Cambridge plant to handle increased production of Lexus RX line in two years to 104,000 vehicles. [5]
In April 2015, Toyota announced it would retool the North Plant to allow for expanded production of the RAV4, which had grown to become the company's best selling vehicle in North America. Production of the Corolla would be transferred to another plant, later announced to be Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi. [6]
On April 25, 2019, the North Plant was chosen as a Lexus assembly site, with the first Lexus NX rolling off the line on March 30, 2022. [2]
