Toyota Plans Another US Plant
01-05-07, 09:20 AM
#1
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Toyota Plans Another US Plant
Road & Track
The Daily Auto Insider
Friday, January 5, 2007
Toyota may name a site in the southern U.S. for its eighth North American assembly plant as early as this month, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Toyota has narrowed the site search to three to five locations, the people familiar with the matter told the WSJ. Among the five locations are Chattanooga, Tenn., and Marion, Ark., they said. Others mentioned included a location near Alamo, Tenn., and a site in North Carolina.
The new plant would have annual manufacturing capacity of 200,000 vehicles and start production in 2009, these people said. Toyota currently has manufacturing capacity of a little more than 1.5 million vehicles a year in North America. With the new plant and others being built at full production, that capacity would climb to about 2.2 million vehicles.
Toyota's new plant would probably produce the next-generation Toyota Highlander sport-utility vehicle and possibly a tall station wagon similar to the Chrysler Pacifica, said the people familiar with the matter. The wagon, under development at a Toyota technical center in Ann Arbor, Mich., is being called the "Ace" and is a replacement for the Toyota Solara, they said.
The Daily Auto Insider
Friday, January 5, 2007
Toyota may name a site in the southern U.S. for its eighth North American assembly plant as early as this month, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Toyota has narrowed the site search to three to five locations, the people familiar with the matter told the WSJ. Among the five locations are Chattanooga, Tenn., and Marion, Ark., they said. Others mentioned included a location near Alamo, Tenn., and a site in North Carolina.
The new plant would have annual manufacturing capacity of 200,000 vehicles and start production in 2009, these people said. Toyota currently has manufacturing capacity of a little more than 1.5 million vehicles a year in North America. With the new plant and others being built at full production, that capacity would climb to about 2.2 million vehicles.
Toyota's new plant would probably produce the next-generation Toyota Highlander sport-utility vehicle and possibly a tall station wagon similar to the Chrysler Pacifica, said the people familiar with the matter. The wagon, under development at a Toyota technical center in Ann Arbor, Mich., is being called the "Ace" and is a replacement for the Toyota Solara, they said.
01-05-07, 09:36 AM
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No more Solara? 
I recall that car was originally destine to be a Lexus and the idea was axed. So Toyota took the car since the R&D was done. If the Solara goes away that could mean Lexus is planning an entry level coupe. 
I like coupes but not a fan of the Solara. An IS coupe would be sweet. 
I recall that car was originally destine to be a Lexus and the idea was axed. So Toyota took the car since the R&D was done. If the Solara goes away that could mean Lexus is planning an entry level coupe. I like coupes but not a fan of the Solara. An IS coupe would be sweet.
01-05-07, 12:02 PM
#4
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Toyota cautious about expanding too fast in U.S.
Bloomberg News
Toyota, whose U.S. sales are growing faster than its ability to add plants, is wary of expanding manufacturing capacity too quickly, an official says.
"We have to make sure we expand in the right way," said Dan Sieger, a spokesman for the company's manufacturing unit in Erlanger, Ky. "That's why there is so much thought going into when, whether and how to add capacity."
Toyota officials have said they are studying possible sites in the U.S., specifically Southern states, for an eighth North American assembly plant. In the past 12 months, the company announced production ventures in Mexico and Indiana and opened a pickup truck plant in San Antonio, Texas.
A 13 percent increase in U.S. sales in 2006 put further pressure on Toyota to expand. Toyota, Asia's largest automaker, imported a record 1.18 million vehicles to the U.S. from Japan last year to help meet demand.
Quality concerns and a limited pool of manufacturing engineers may mean a new North American plant won't be announced soon, analyst Sean McAlinden said.
"They are really strained by an insufficient supply of manufacturing specialists, with all the projects currently going on," said McAlinden, chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research. "They've got another 12 months before they'll announce plant number eight," he said, citing conversations with suppliers in the U.S. and Japan.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported Toyota may reveal as early as this month plans for a 200,000-unit assembly plant in the U.S. Southeast that would open by 2009. The paper cited unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Toyota plans to sell 9.34 million vehicles worldwide in 2007, up 6 percent from an estimated 8.8 million in 2006.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Toyota, whose U.S. sales are growing faster than its ability to add plants, is wary of expanding manufacturing capacity too quickly, an official says.
"We have to make sure we expand in the right way," said Dan Sieger, a spokesman for the company's manufacturing unit in Erlanger, Ky. "That's why there is so much thought going into when, whether and how to add capacity."
Toyota officials have said they are studying possible sites in the U.S., specifically Southern states, for an eighth North American assembly plant. In the past 12 months, the company announced production ventures in Mexico and Indiana and opened a pickup truck plant in San Antonio, Texas.
A 13 percent increase in U.S. sales in 2006 put further pressure on Toyota to expand. Toyota, Asia's largest automaker, imported a record 1.18 million vehicles to the U.S. from Japan last year to help meet demand.
Quality concerns and a limited pool of manufacturing engineers may mean a new North American plant won't be announced soon, analyst Sean McAlinden said.
"They are really strained by an insufficient supply of manufacturing specialists, with all the projects currently going on," said McAlinden, chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research. "They've got another 12 months before they'll announce plant number eight," he said, citing conversations with suppliers in the U.S. and Japan.
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported Toyota may reveal as early as this month plans for a 200,000-unit assembly plant in the U.S. Southeast that would open by 2009. The paper cited unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Toyota plans to sell 9.34 million vehicles worldwide in 2007, up 6 percent from an estimated 8.8 million in 2006.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
01-05-07, 12:27 PM
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