Toyota opens second factory in southern Ontario

Toyota Canada held a ceremony in Woodstock, Ont., on Thursday to officially open a new $1.1 billion plant about a month after its assembly lines began running.

The plant, which employs about 1,200 people, is Toyota's second facility in Canada. The other one is in nearby Cambridge.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was among the dignitaries taking part in the ceremony. Prime Minister Stephen Harper had planned to attend but cancelled his trip at the last moment as he met with the Governor General to seek her permission to prorogue Parliament.

The Woodstock plant is producing Toyota's RAV-4 cross-over sport utility vehicles. The company initially planned to turn out 150,000 RAV-4s a year at the facility but scaled that back to 75,000 as sales slowed for all automakers.

The Cambridge plant assembles Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks. The Woodstock plant is the only one outside Japan making the RAV-4.

"We started production in nearby Cambridge almost exactly 20 years ago, and this Woodstock plant shows our commitment to Canada is continuing," said Katsuaki Watanabe, president of Toyota Motor Corp.

In November, Toyota reported that it had sold more than 1,600 RAV-4s, an increase of more than 37 per cent from the same month a year ago. Overall, Toyota has sold 214,406 vehicles in the first 11 months of this year, well ahead of its previous best full year in 2007.