By Rich Davis, Evansville Courier & Press
Toyota will move its Tundra full-size pickup truck production to Texas and begin producing the Highlander, a mid-size SUV, at its Princeton, Ind. plant, the company announced this morning.
The Highlander originally was scheduled to be built in Mississippi but will now be manufactured in Gibson County starting in the fall of 2009.
Tundra production will be moved from Indiana to San Antonio next spring.
The 4-million-square-foot Gibson County facility also produces the Sequoia sport utility vehicle and Sienna minivan.
The company said it was responding to changes in consumer demand and improving production efficiency and stability of its North American operations by adjusting production mix at several North American plants.
In addition to the lineup changes, Toyota will temporarily suspend Tundra and Sequoia production beginning Aug. 8 due to the declining overall market for full size trucks and SUVs.
Production is scheduled to resume in early November. Employees at all facilities, as well as the Huntsville, Ala. plant that builds Tundra and Sequoia engines, will continue to be provided work, the company said.
Kelly Dillon, a spokesman for the Princeton plant which began production in 1998, said employment levels there - about 4,500 - won't be affected.
Toyota also announced it will begin building the Prius hybrid sedan at a plant now under construction in Blue Springs, Miss., by late 2010. Prius will join the Kentucky-built Camry Hybrid as the second Toyota hybrid built in North America. The company said this will help Toyota to better respond to increased consumer demand for hybrid vehicles.
"This transition is exciting for our plant and for North America," said Shaun Koyama, president for Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (TMMI). "I am confident that we will continue to make TMMI a stronger company and even more capable of meeting the demands of a strong economy."
Gov. Mitch Daniels released this statement in response to the news:
This is a great vote of confidence in the excellence and productivity of Indiana workers. It strengthens our state's standing as one of Toyota's principal American bases, and as an emerging capital of fuel efficient car manufacturing.