Despite slumping North American sales, Toyota officially opened a new production facility in Woodstock, Ontario on Thursday. The Woodstock facility — which employs 1,200 workers — will build the Toyota RAV4 , marking the first time that the small SUV has been built outside of Japan.
The Woodstock plant represents more than an $860 million investment by Toyota, bringing the Japanese automaker’s total investment in Canada up to $4.38 billion. Although the plant was originally intended to run on two shifts, the Woodstock will run just one line with an annual capacity of 75,000 units.
The opening ceremony was attended by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toyota Motor Corporation President Katsuaki Watanabe, among thousands of other workers and suppliers.
“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 opening of the Woodstock plant marks Toyota’s 14th plant in North America, bringing total capacity to two million vehicles.
