Toyota has big plans for its U.S. plants, says Yoshi Inaba, president of Toyota Motors North America.
Toyota Motor Co. plans to move production of the hybrid version of its Highlander SUV from Japan to an assembly plant in Princeton, Indiana, the company’s top North American executive said during an appearance at the Chicago Auto Show.
The move will be part of a broader – and ongoing shift in production out of the Japanese home market. It is likely to transform the U.S. into a major export base for the Japanese giant and it could eventually result in Toyota bringing production of the popular Prius hybrid to the U.S. as well, said Yoshi Inaba, president and chief operating officer at Toyota Motor North America.
That’s good news for the U.S. economy, in general, and the Princeton community, in particular. Speaking to a special meeting of the Economic Club of Chicago, Inaba said that by moving the Highlander Hybrid to Indiana – while also expanding production of the conventionally powered van – Toyota will ill create an additional 400 jobs at the plant, which will undergo a $400 million upgrade.
Toyota will shift production of the Highlander Hybrid to its Princeton, IN plant.
“That’s great news for this region, for our American customers and for the US economy because every auto job creates three and a half spin-off jobs,” Inaba said – meaning that when contractors and suppliers are included in the picture there could be another 1,000 to 1,500 more new jobs.
“Even better we plan to export some of those Highlander’s to other countries.” Inaba annnounced. “Our exports of (products from the U.S.) to 21 countries have topped 100,000 vehicles and we are just beginning to export American Camry sedans and Sienna minivans to South Korea.”
The expansion at the Princeton plant should be completed by mid-2013, Inaba said during a conversation after this auto show speech.
Inaba’s announcement is the latest in a string of recent news reports that will see many thousands of new automotive jobs added by manufacturers as diverse as Hyundai, BMW, Ford and, now, Toyota.
And the Japanese giant could pump up the figures even more as it struggles to compensate for lopsided exchange rates making it increasingly difficult to produce and export cars from Japan.
“Our philosophy is to produce cars where they’re sold,” said the Toyota executive, and while the maker’s North American plants now produce about 3 of 4 vehicles it sells in the U.S., he suggested that leaves room for more growth.
One product that might migrate to a North American plant is the Prius, which accounts for half of all U.S. hybrid sales. The maker announced plans to build a version of the Prius at its new Tupelo, Mississippi plant, several years ago, but scrubbed that when fuel prices fell and hybrid demand failed to grow.
But the possibility of an American-made Prius is “always in our mind,” Inaba said, “when we consider when and where to localize it.”
Meanwhile, the executive, who earned his MBA in Chicago, said he expects to see substantial growth in exports from Toyota plants in North America. The company is even considering the possibility of adding another plant in the U.S. or Mexico, though he cautioned that decision won’t be made immediately.
Critically, Toyota is likely to take advantage of the weak dollar by ramping up exports even further, he suggested.
Echoing the comments of Pres. Barack Obama, during the recent state-of-the-union speech, Inaba said he sees the U.S. auto industry in the midst of a significant recovery – and one that the country will benefit from.
Inaba pointed to statistics indicating the industry is now responsible for about 8 million jobs, and cited studies that suggest, “the industry expects to add 150,000 new jobs over the next four years,” underscoring what he said was a clear rebound for an industry that was on its back just a few years ago.
“The auto industry’s current $500 billion payroll ranks only below the Defense Department and Social Security,” he adds, “So we make a tremendous positive impact on this country.”
Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.