Toyota USA Looking To Go Import-Free?

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

The inevitable march to American-made “imports” continues, as one Toyota official recently declared his desire to see every single Toyota sold in America to be a made-in-USA product.

Although Toyota currently makes about 70 percent of its Stateside product domestically, Bill Fay, Vice President and General Manager of the company’s American arm, said he’d ideally like to see that number expand. Fay spoke to the Detroit Free Press regarding shifting production

“Our intention is clearly to grow that 70% over time…Short term, we are not going to build everything in North America, especially (when) you consider Lexus, which we are shifting more slowly. “Whether we ever totally get there, I don’t know…”

Next up on Toyota’s agenda is a shift in Corolla production, which would see 100 percent of the compact sedans made in Canada or the USA. Concerns over unfavorable wages aren’t the sole reason behind the move either; a rapidly aging workforce and negative population growth means that finding workers for car factories is an increasingly difficult task.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Gentle Ted Gentle Ted on Jan 21, 2013

    I don't think it matter where a Vehicle is built, each Car Maker wants to make the most profit and pay as little as possible to each worker, same with any Vehicle or Appliance?

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    • Sunridge place Sunridge place on Jan 21, 2013

      In theory, yes. But, it is not quite that simple. Assembly labor is less than 10% of the cost of a car. And, cheap labor areas bring other costs. You have to have established suppliers etc nearby. You have to consider the extra cost to ship your car to the market that you are selling it in.

  • Acuraandy Acuraandy on Jan 21, 2013

    Acura decided much of the same in the past couple of years, soon 85% of all Acuras will be built in NA.

  • Silverkris Silverkris on Jan 21, 2013

    I really don't see this as a big deal. However, I don't think the low volume, specialty cars will be manufactured in NA for reasons of economies of scale. That has been a trend that has been going for the last 20-30 years for Toyota, Honda, and other "import" manufacturers. Toyota (and Honda as well) now has the critical mass in terms of market share, and established manufacturing infrastructure (plants and supply chain) to further increase their local manufacturing %. Short-term fluctuations in the yen valuation are unlikely to change that.

  • Beerboy12 Beerboy12 on Jan 21, 2013

    Gosh! If only the "locals" had that same commitment... In any market, anywhere in the world, local manufacturing pays of. It's about creating jobs, parts availability, perception of commitment and a sense of local pride. I would use Fords F150 as an example of locally made sales success. Sales success even pays for expensive labor. So... Go on Toyota, prove 'em wrong!

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