Lexus Canada Celebrates 9 Millionth Ontario-Built Vehicle
Ever since the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada plant was founded in 1988, it’s been a major employer in Southern Ontario and a key part of Lexus and Toyota’s North American operations. Now, this famous facility is celebrating the nine millionth vehicle to roll off its assembly line — a 2020 Lexus RX 450h hybrid.
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A milestone achievement
It’s no small feat to produce nine million vehicles — especially considering the plant’s humble beginnings. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada president Frank Voss expressed his pride in the assembly plant’s growth.
“In 1988 – the year we opened our first plant in Cambridge – our team members built 153 Toyota Corollas – and it took 10 years to produce our first million vehicles,” Voss stated. “We built the most recent million in just two years and we’re building almost 500,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles every year, making us the highest producing Toyota and Lexus plant in North America, and the second-largest in the world.”
Over the past 30 years, the plant has brought economic growth to southern Ontario. With an assembly line in Woodstock and two others in Cambridge, the automaker provides jobs for over 8,500 people.
In 2000, the Cambridge South plant became the first facility outside of Japan to be entrusted with the exacting task of producing Lexus vehicles. Currently, the plant produces some of the most beloved Lexus models, including the Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h. And in beginning in early 2022, the plant will also be the home of the Lexus NX and NX hybrid.
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About the 2020 Lexus RX 450h
The 2020 Lexus RX 450h may have been the nine millionth vehicle to come off the assembly line at the Cambridge South plant, but it should be your first pick for a luxury hybrid SUV. It offers both two- and three-row configurations, 27 highway mpg, and 295 horsepower. It can even travel up to 516 miles on a single tank of fuel.
On the inside, you’ll find upscale amenities like a 12.3-inch touch-screen display, a dynamic built-in Lexus Enform navigation system, and 15-speaker Mark Levinson premium sound system.
Kimiko Kidd is a native Daytonian. She graduated from Wright State University with degrees in environmental science and sociology. She loves her trusty old Honda Civic, but dreams of owning a 1974 Ford Falcon XB with a custom paint job and a vintage Kawasaki Z1000. In her free time, Kimiko can be found watercolor-painting, baking muffins, collecting rocks, playing old-school Nintendo games, writing her novel, sewing stuffed animals, and cosplaying as her favorite Mad Max characters. See more articles by Kimiko.