Toyota is set to invest $400 million to build the Highlander Hybrid at the automaker’s Princeton, Indiana factory. The Japanese automaker also plans to export the hybrid crossover from its new U.S. production center.
The Highlander Hybrid is currently built in Japan, but the strength of the the yen has limited the profitability of Japanese auto exports. Toyota plans to transfer all Highlander production out of Japan by late 2013.
Toyota will hire 400 workers to accommodate the upswing in Highlander output in Indiana, which is expected to be in the neighborhood of 50,000 units when production begins at the end of 2013. The Indiana plant, which also builds Sienna and Sequoia models, cranked out 101,868 Highlanders last year according to Automotive News.
With a new hybrid system on the way and the increasing likelihood of escalating fuel prices, Toyota expects annual global sales of the Highlander hybrid to reach 50,000 units in the near future.
