WOODSTOCK, Ont. - The new Toyota assembly plant in Woodstock, Ont., will officially open today even though it's been churning out vehicles for about a month.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will be among the dignitaries on hand to open the $1.1 billion manufacturing facility in the southwestern Ontario city.
The giant Toyota plant employs about 1,200 workers and rolls out RAV-4 cross-over utility vehicles to dealer showrooms
Toyota initially planned to make 150,000 RAV-4s a year at the plant, but scaled that back to 75,000 as sales slowed for all automakers.
In November, Toyota reported that it had sold more than 1,600 RAV-4s, an increase of 37.6 per cent from the same month a year before. 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.
Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding hopes a second shift will be added to the plant, but says even with scaled-back production, the plant is good for the region and for Ontario.
