Toyota to Build Sport-Utility at Indiana Plant

Toyota Motor Corp. will produce its first sport-utility vehicle in North America at its new assembly plant in southern Indiana, beginning with the 2001 model year. Toyota will produce 50,000 full-size SUVs annually starting in the fall of 2000, said spokesman Mike Goss of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana. The name of the vehicle has not yet been determined, he said. Some industry sources have speculated the vehicle will be a luxury model called the Harrier, the name used in Japan for the luxury SUV sold in the United States as the Lexus RX300. Toyota’s sport-utility lineup in the U.S. now includes the full-size Land Cruiser, the mid-size 4Runner and the compact RAV4. The new SUV will be built on the same production line as the Tundra full-size pickup truck that the Japanese auto maker will begin making in January at the plant, which is north of Evansville, Goss said.