Toyota announced it would be adding 300 workers to its plant in Princeton, Ind., to meet the sales demand for the Toyota Highlander.
Much of the news lately about automakers expanding their production capabilities seems to be tied to Mexico; however, Toyota is adding 300 jobs at its plant in Princeton, Ind. as part of a $100 million expansion to increase production of its Highlander.
The project is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2016. Toyota has invested more than $4 billion into its Indiana facilities.
Since production of the third-generation Highlander began in the Indiana plant in December 2013, sales have been strong. From January through July 2014, Toyota sold about 90,000 Highlanders, an increase of 16% over the same period the previous year.
The expansion also reflects Toyota’s overall confidence in North America: a market that is critical to the company’s overall profitability. Bob Carter, Toyota Motor Sales senior vice president, said recently that Toyota now expects to sell 100,000 more vehicles in the U.S. this year than it did in 2013 and overall vehicle sales to remain steady in the future.
The rise in popularity of the Toyota Highlander in the U.S. pushed the maker to invest $100 million in a plant expansion to meet that demand.
Toyota is the world’s largest automaker and is running a close race with the Ford Motor Co. for the second spot in sales in the U.S. behind General Motors.
However, not all carmakers are as confident as Toyota. Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said recently he has no plans to expand Chrysler’s production footprint in the U.S. despite the strong sales numbers of the past 18 months.
Currently, Toyota Indiana builds the Highlander only in Princeton’s West Plant alongside the Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle. To meet increasing demand for Highlander, annual production of up to 30,000 of the midsize SUVs will be added to Toyota Indiana’s East Plant where the Sienna minivan is built, Toyota officials said.
(Toyota expects to sell 100,000 more cars in the U.S. in 2014. For more, Click Here.)
Toyota said in its announcement the planned expansion allows the company to utilize existing capacity in North America while providing additional flexibility to adjust our product mix to meet changing customer demand.
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“The Highlander has been a great product for our plant,” said Toyota Indiana President Norm Bafunno. “Establishing Highlander as the ‘bridge vehicle,’ as we call it, between the East and West plants increases our ability to meet customer needs for our outstanding products. This exciting news is a true testament to the capability of our hard-working and dedicated team members.”
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The plant in Princeton, which is near Evansville, Ind., is one of the busiest in Toyota’s manufacturing system in the U.S. It currently employs more than 4,700 people and built approximately 300,000 vehicles in 2013.
Toyota Indiana is the sole producer of Highlander in North America and also exports the popular sport-ute to Australia, New Zealand and Eastern Europe. Sienna is shipped to South Korea, Pacific islands and other countries, and the Sequoia is exported to the Middle East, making the Indiana plant a global supply base for SUVs and minivans.