Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) announced on Monday that it will begin to produce Lexus NX and NX hybrid SUVs at its plant in Cambridge in 2022.
This is welcome news for a province that recently saw job cuts in the automotive sector by General Motors Oshawa and Fiat Chrysler in Oshawa.
“(This announcement) means that Toyota’s manufacturing operations are here to stay,” TMMC president Fred Volf said at the plant on Monday. “It means that TMCC will continue to be a leader in manufacturing in Canada and globally.
WATCH: Trudeau says past investments led to Toyota production announcement
“And it means that TMMC will be building some of the most technologically advanced, most in-demand cars in the Toyota-Lexus global lineup.”
READ MORE: Trudeau has heated moment when asked to reconcile climate plan with pipeline purchase
Volf was joined at the introduction by local leaders, Ontario’s deputy premier Christine Elliott and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Volf credited a recent $1.4-billion investment into TMMC’s Cambridge operations for allowing increased flexibility at the plants.
Get daily National news
WATCH: Trudeau says Cambridge is where they see ‘the real strength’ of economy
Trudeau noted that the federal government contributed $110 million into that pot with an eye towards an announcement like Monday’s.
“We made a $110-million investment from the federal government that secured a $1.4-billion investment from Toyota in the high-tech and advanced technology infrastructure that would make it possible to actually announce that the Lexus NX and Lexus NX hybrid will be built here in Cambridge,” he explained while fielding questions from the media after the announcement was made.
READ MORE: Doug Ford says Ontario government will fight carbon tax ‘with every tool’ possible
The Toyota plant has been operating in Cambridge since 1988 and has now built more than eight million vehicles.
It was announced in 2000 that the plant would be the first to build Lexus automobiles outside of Japan, and it now becomes the first to build the Lexus NX outside of that country.
WATCH: New Lexus production in Ontario. Sean O’Shea reports.
.jpg?w=1040&quality=70&strip=all)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has also been in Cambridge a couple of times of late as he continues his battle with the prime minister over carbon taxes, a fight that is currently in the court system.
Trudeau was asked about his ongoing battle with the Ontario premier.
“First of all, I don’t think anyone can imagine that you can have a plan for the future of our economy if you don’t have a plan for the environment,” he explained before making reference to the flooding that has hit communities around the province, including Ottawa and Muskoka.
WATCH: Trudeau defends climate change plan after criticisms from Doug Ford
READ MORE: ‘What you’re doing is insincere’: Trudeau accused of delaying sandbagging amid Ottawa flooding
“We are getting an all too real reminder this weekend that climate change is real and it has real impacts, with extreme weather events that are costing in the millions and, indeed, billions that are costing governments and therefore Canadians to clean up,” Trudeau said.
Toyota announced Monday that starting in 2022 the company’s Cambridge plant would build the Lexus NX and said the production means it’s “here to stay” in Canada.
Comments