Toyota Motor Corporation on Thursday announced a drastic shake-up of its US production, reducing output of gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks in favour of a fuel-sipping hybrid.
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It is also – as have some of the Detroit-based Big Three – completely halting assembly of some truck and SUV models – and their engines – at other plants for three months.
Local reports have recently highlighted Toyota’s growing inventory of large trucks and SUVs and a shortage of Prius hybrids which saw company post sales off 11.5% year on year in June and 6.8% year to date, according to WardsAuto.com.
TMC said today that Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, (TMMMS), currently being built and originally scheduled to produce the Highlander SUV [called Kluger elsewhere], will instead build the Prius hybrid from the second half of 2010.
This should be the third generation model expected out by then, likely with plug-in technology as either standard or optional.
Highlanders will now be built in the US at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, (TMMI) from autumn 2009. The plant already makes the Tundra truck, Sequoia large SUV and Sienna minivan.
Production of that Tundra full-size pickup truck at Indiana will be axed, however, and “consolidated” at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, in San Antonio from spring 2009. That plant opened at the end of 2006 but has never met its original production goals, according to US reports.
The Prius is the second Toyota hybrid to be built in North America after the Kentucky-built Camry.
“Strong demand for hybrid vehicles is expected to continue,” the automaker said. “Therefore, TMC, as a step toward a more stable North American production structure, intends to respond to customer needs by localising hybrid vehicle production.
“The introduction of the Highlander at [Indiana] and the consolidation of Tundra production at [Texas] are intended to increase efficiencies at both plants and to achieve steady plant utilisation rates.”
TMC is also suspending Tundra and Sequoia production in Indiana, Tundra output at San Antonio and associated V6 and V8 petrol engine output at its plant in Alabama for about three months from early August until November.
“During this non-production period, employees are to mainly be assigned to participate in ‘continuous improvement’ activities and training,” TMC said.
“TMC intends to use the opportunity presented by this period to cultivate its employees, with a long-term aim to further increase the productivity of its vehicle production plants in North America.”
In 2007 Toyota built 1,671,009 vehicles, up 8%, and 1,571,872 engines, a 10% increase, in North America, attributing the rise largely to the Tundra production ramp-up in Texas and Camry production in Indiana.
Its output had increased 39% over the previous five years and it had been preparing to increase vehicle capacity to approximately 2.2m units by 2010.
The Kentucky plant is scheduled to start building a new Venza crossover sedan this autumn while a new Canadian factory in Woodstock, Ontario will open late in the year with the capacity to build 150,000 RAV4 SUVs.
