Toyota has announced it will increase production at its Woodstock, Ontario crossover plant. The production boost at the Woodstock plant means Toyota is now running overtime at all of its North American plants. The Woodstock factory produces the Toyota RAV4 .
Toyota made the decision to up the RAV4’s production at the Ontario plant following stronger than expected demand. “Despite the market decline, the model is selling better than last year,†Ray Tanguay, executive vice president in charge of Toyota’s North American manufacturing and engineering group, told Automotive News. “This is a vote of confidence that the market is recovering.â€
Through the first 10 months of the year, Toyota has sold 132,346 units of the RAV4. That’s up 3 percent from the 128,255 RAV4 sales Toyota tallied during the same period last year.
Toyota will hire 800 new workers at the Woodstock plant in order to keep up with the new production schedule. Toyota expects to the Woodstock plant to be up to full capacity – 150,000 units annually – by April 1.
Several other Toyota models are experiencing increased demand – including the Corolla small car and Lexus RX luxury crossover – but Toyota says it has no plans to boost its North American capacity. Toyota will soon shutter is former GM joint-venture NUMMI plant and has yet to open a plant in Mississippi.
