Toyota Motor will begin producing its updated, hybrid-only Lexus NX in Ontario, Canada this December, reported Bloomberg.
The Japanese car maker’s push comes even as US competitors scale back amid rising trade friction.
Toyota will assemble the model at its Cambridge, Ontario, manufacturing complex, supported by capital expenditure running into hundreds of millions of dollars.
The programme follows a $1.1bn investment allocated to the latest RAV4 crossover, which entered production in January.
Toyota built 537,518 vehicles last year across its two Ontario plants, both running at or near full capacity on two shifts plus overtime.
Approximately 85% of this output is designated for export, predominantly to the US.
“We’re fully committed to making cars in Canada for the long-term. We continue to invest here and think Canada is a great place to make cars,” Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada corporate affairs director Scott MacKenzie was quoted as saying.
This commitment contrasts with cutbacks throughout Canada’s wider automotive industry.
Annual vehicle assembly in the country dropped from roughly three million units in 2000 to 1.3 million in 2024.
Trade exposure has intensified conditions, with the US threatening vehicle import tariffs of 50% if a broader bilateral agreement is not concluded by 1 January.
These pressures have hastened manufacturing decreases among Detroit automakers.
General Motors (GM) removed a shift at its truck facility near Toronto and closed output at its Ingersoll plant last year.
Stellantis stopped production at a site in the Toronto area that it intends to sell, while Ford Motor abandoned plans to build electric vehicles in Canada, focusing its operations on heavy-duty trucks.
Honda Motor has also paused capacity expansion, cancelling plans for a C$15bn ($10.58bn) battery supply chain in Ontario.
The assembly launch also coincides with heightened domestic competition.
Federal quotas will permit increased volumes of Chinese imports, opening the way for Geely Automobile Holdings to enter Canada next year.
Meanwhile, Toyota delivered 249,445 vehicles last year to gain domestic market share and reduce the lead held by GM, which sold approximately 300,000 units.
