Toyota has begun to export US-assembled Highlander SUVs to Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Shipments initially are forecast at about 29,000 units a year.
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The Highlanders are built in Princeton, Indiana in a plant which also makes the Sequoia full-size SUV and Sienna minivan.
Toyota said the export business allows better utilisation of the Indiana plant and increases opportunities and jobs for its North American supply base.
The automaker began exporting US-assembled vehicles in 1988, and now ships to 32 countries. The 2013 tally was about 130,000 units – a record and a 5% increase year on year.
The Highlander exports actually began in late December. Exports to Australia and New Zealand are shipped from Baltimore, Maryland while ships for eastern Europe leave from Brunswick, Georgia.
