The crossover craze
doesn’t show any sign of slowing down and Toyota is responding to the shift in
demand by announcing plans to build a new SUV in the United States. Little is
known about the model, but the company has confirmed it will be built at the
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The plant is
currently under construction and production is slated to begin in 2021.
The plant was
originally set to build the Toyota Corolla, but the company reversed course in
“response to changing market demands and a growing consumer appetite for light
trucks and SUVs which are achieving record sales.” Despite the change, the
Corolla will continue to be built at the company’s plant in Blue Springs,
Mississippi.
While the company
was coy on specifics, the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing plant was slated to build
up to 150,000 Corollas annually. However, Corolla sales in the United States
fell from 360,483 units in 2016 to 280,886 units last year. As a result, it’s
possible that Toyota decided there wasn’t enough demand to justify having two
U.S. plants building the Corolla. If that’s the case, it’s not necessarily a
bad move as it frees up the joint plant to build the new SUV.
Details about the
model will be released at a later day, but Toyota referred to the vehicle as a
“new, yet-to-be announced SUV.” That suggests it’s an all-new vehicle which
join the company’s existing crossover and SUV lineup that includes the CH-R,
RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, Sequoia and Land Cruiser.
There’s no word on
which model will built at the plant, but executives have previously suggested
the FT-4X concept could go into production. That model was introduced at 2017
New York Auto Show and featured boxy styling as well as all-wheel drive.
Regardless of what Toyota builds at the plant, the facility will have an annual
capacity of up to 300,000 units. That capacity will be split equally between
Toyota and Mazda.
