Toyota breaks ground on Guanajuato plant in Mexico

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Plant to build Toyota's Corolla compact car from 2019

Toyota announced today (14 November) that it has broken ground in Mexico on its 15th manufacturing plant in North America: Toyota Motor Manufacturing de Guanajuato (TMMGT). The factory will build Toyota's Corolla compact car from 2019, according to a company announcement. With a headcount of 2,000 workers, the plant is due to produce 200,000 units per year. The Corolla built there will be on Toyota's New Global Architecture (TNGA), introduced under the Prius and planned to lead to building more models on common platforms. The company also noted that once production begins at the new facility, its North American capacity will total about 2.2 million vehicles.

Significance: Launching with vehicles on TNGA ensures the plant's flexibility. Toyota announced the USD1 billion investment in 2015, though currently only the Corolla is forecast through 2021. The company's strategy of moving small car production to Mexico and keeping production of larger cars and utility vehicles in the United States or Canada is being echoed across the industry. In 2015, only 4% of Toyota's North American production volume was from Mexico, with 30.5% from Canada and 65% from the United States. IHS Automotive forecasts that in 2021 the United States will still provide 65% but Canada's contribution will have slipped to 22%.

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