GAC Toyota rolls out Highlander at 2nd plant

Shanghai, May 25 (Gasgoo.com) GAC Toyota (formerly Guangzhou Toyota) launched its second plant into operation today, with the luxury Highlander SUV as the first model rolling off the production line, xinhuanet.com reported.

The joint venture between Guangzhou Auto Co. (GAC) and Toyota Motor Corp has become one of the fastest-growing automakers in China since its first plant started making cars in May 2006. To satisfy the market growth, the company started construction of the second plant in June 2007, which is expected to produce 160,000 vehicles annually, bringing the total capacity of GAC Toyota to 360,000 units.

The 4.26 billion yuan ($624 mln) new project has included five workshops. The punching workshop covers 26,078 square meters and includes four production lines. The welding workshop covers 3,860 square meters with 13 production lines. The assembling workshop covers 8,5678 square meters. A lot of sophisticated equipment and energy-efficient technologies have been introduced to the new plant.

The first model to be made at the second plant is the luxury urban SUV Highlander -- the first SUV model of GAC Toyota. The 2.7L and 3.5L editions of the Highlander SUV came off the line today and their prices were also announced: 248,800-429,800 yuan. More other vehicle products will be built at the new facility according to the market demands.

Toyota Motor recently said that it will deepen its cooperation with Guangzhou Auto, and will introduce more of its excellent models, including those of small cars, mid-to-high-end sedans, luxury cars, and SUVs, to China for local production and sales.