GAC-Toyota 2nd plant to build Highlander in mid-'09

Shanghai, December 1 (Gasgoo.com) In mid-2009, the second plant of GAC Toyota (previously known as Guangzhou Toyota) will be launched into operation, said sina.com today. The first model to be built at the new facility will be the Toyota's new Highlander SUV, whose import to China will stop next month to make room for the locally made model.

An insider of GAC Toyota has revealed that the company will stop importing the Toyota Highlander SUV to the Chinese market from January 2009 in order to clear the stockpiles of the this imported model in the 4S stores. This move is intended to make room for the Highlander model to be made by the second plant of GAC Toyota. All the imported units of Highlander in the stores are expected to be sold out by June when its China production begins.

According to Hu Su, vice general manager of GAC Toyota, construction of the second plant is going according to plan and the new facility will start operation in the middle of next year. The venture's third new model series will be built on the new production line.

After it is locally made in China, the Toyota Highlander SUV is likely to be imported simultaneously to the Chinese market, an industry analyst said, just like FAW Toyota, another Chinese partner of the Japanese carmaker, has been doing with the Toyota Prado model.

The 3.5L Highlander model will be made in China by GAC Toyota, while the all-new 2.7L four-cylinder 2009 Highlander model will be assembled at the venture's new plant from imported components and will be sold in China as an imported model, sources said.