REPORT: Production of Toyota Corolla transferring from NUMMI to Ontario

2009 Toyota Corolla - Click above for high-res image gallery
As even mighty Toyota finds itself with excess production capacity in North America and elsewhere, the Japanese automaker has finally made the decision to shutter an assembly plant. The loss of the Pontiac Vibe means that it wasn't viable to keep the NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA operating on its own, but the rest of the products it builds are still in demand to varying degrees.
We've already heard that production of the mid-size Tacoma pickup truck would be consolidated with its big brother the Tundra in San Antonio TX. The other remaining product from NUMMI was the Corolla sedan. The volume that had been produced in California will reportedly now come out Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario factory where the compact car is already built. It's not known at this time if the move will result in any additional jobs at the Cambridge plant. Thanks for the tip, Dave!
Gallery: 2009 Toyota Corolla
[Source: Montreal Gazette]






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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Diego3336 4:43PM (8/29/2009)
A canadian-built japanese-car as the C4C winner. Great... [/ironic]
Reply
MKIV 5:21PM (8/29/2009)
It's built at NUMMI you idiot. C4C will be long over when this car will begin production in CA. GM pulled out of NUMMI first and it make no sense to keep that pile running with the union infestation. Read much?
richard 5:44PM (8/29/2009)
"Union infestation"? I guess unions can all go away now that corporations have demonstrated that they will treat their workers fairly without being forced to do so. Good thing "shareholder value" isn't as important as strong families and communities to big corporations, or we would see dropping standards of living, outsourcing to developing nations with low pay expectations and no health and safety regulation. Oh wait...
john 8:00PM (8/29/2009)
@richard Too bad, globalization is here to stay. Your living and mine will decrease while the rest of the world will go up and balance out at one point in the near future. Start getting use to it. It won't be nice.
the4thheat 8:10PM (8/29/2009)
C4C is already over dude...so getting all production moved to Ontario has nothing to do with C4C.
MKIV 10:37AM (8/30/2009)
Richard,
It's call being paid for what you're worth. No one need to get paid $80/hr to tool around in a forklift. Tightening a nut is not worth $70/hr. If someone is willing to do them for $10/hr, then that is what that job is worth.
It's not the fault of the 'corporation' any more than the lazy people who feel entitled.
richard 11:20AM (8/30/2009)
MKIV: Just because someone will do a job for less does not mean that's all it's worth. There is always someone who will work for less. For a start, they actually make less than half what you say. They have pensions and health care that should be a right for all, not a privilege for a few. It's not socialist to suggest that the workers should be able to have decent homes, college funds for their kids, and maybe even buy the cars they build. Besides, working in these plants is much harder than the popular myths have it. Injuries are common, and life expectancies are lower. Henry Ford, hardly a commie, started the ball rolling when he paid his workers a much higher wage than other industries at the time. In return, he got productivity, loyalty, and a workforce that became a significant part of his customer base.
mortonb11 4:48PM (8/29/2009)
no thanks we dont want it
Reply
Aprime 4:54PM (8/29/2009)
We already build it anyway.
tankd0g 5:16PM (8/29/2009)
? Don't they already build it at one of the TMMC plants?
Reply
Willem B 8:27PM (8/29/2009)
read much?
" The volume that had been produced in California will reportedly now come out Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario factory where the compact car is already built."
tankd0g 11:50PM (8/29/2009)
Been around much? What excess volume? C4C is over. Read the original article much? Little light on the numbers and any other relevant information.
Willem B 11:56PM (8/29/2009)
@ TankDog
I've been around for a few years. I'm wondering the same thing about the excess volume. The article mentions excess capacity, not volume.
Diego3336 5:33PM (8/29/2009)
Toyota-fans are the same s*** of the Applehead. Toyota is always right, even when they pay more for an ordinary and ugly car with nothing better than competition. Well, but it's a Toyota :rolleyes:
Reply
the4thheat 8:25PM (8/29/2009)
Pay more? Some people actually care about total cost of ownership and much of the time the Toyota model is cheaper to own because of much lower depreciation and repair costs. Buying a Corolla or Camry means even if you need repairs the parts are about as cheap as possible. And maintenance costs are a lot lower than cars from VW (especially the diesels autobloggers seem to love so very much where regular maintenance at the dealership is a money pit).
That's why a Camry has a lower true cost of ownership than the Chevy Impala, the Hyundai Sonata, and most of all the Fusion (a 4 cylinder automatic Camry is $3000 cheaper over 5 years).
It's fairly ignorant to only consider up front costs since a car isn't just the up front cost-that only makes up about 50% of the cost of the car. Insurance rates, depreciation, maintenance, and fuel all add up over the years.
They don't sell more cars because customers get less for more money, quit being an idiot.
mentallyretired 9:01PM (8/29/2009)
@the4thheat
Your numbers are broken. According to Edmunds True Cost of Ownership the 5 year cost of a base Camry is $227 less than the base Malibu (the Sonata is $211 less than Camry), and in average cost per mile the Camry is the same as the Malibu at $0.53/mile.
the4thheat 6:05AM (8/30/2009)
My numbers aren't broken at all-but the price you get depends on which zip code you put since the price you pay for insurance varies by zip code, so the cars that are close in cost can switch positions depending on zip code. In many zip codes I've checked the Camry comes out on top, and even if the Sonata is $200 cheaper over 5 years in your particular zip code it still proves my point that the up front cost is a dumb way to judge costs since the Sonata starts out a heck of a lot more than $200 cheaper.
Other cars like the Fusion don't come close in any zip code.
Comparison in NYC:
Camry/Sonata/Malibu/Altima/Accord NY:
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/toyota/camry/100975556/cto.html?step=2&setzip=10013
Comparison in North Carolina (Raleigh):
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/toyota/camry/100975556/cto.html?step=2&setzip=27601
Comparison in San Francisco (the Sonata edges this one by a hundred bucks):
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/toyota/camry/100975556/cto.html?step=2&setzip=94107
My point was that up front costs are only a fraction of actually owning the car so the fact that the Camry costs more up front than something cheaper to begin with like a Sonata doesn't mean that Camry owners are mindlessly paying more money since their total cost of ownership can actually be lower (or at least similar). Not that other cars don't end up having similar costs of ownership-but that diego's comment was an ignorant way of looking at costs since he's only looking at what you pay at the dealership and not the money you pay for insurance, maintenance, and repairs year after year.
farmer0904 5:36PM (8/29/2009)
Toyota is junk with all these recalls .I think they should change their name to recalota , lol
Toyota Is not supporting our economy by laying off more U.S workers. I know not all might agree but If Recalota can't support the worker's of it's Biggest pool of buyers then I say don't buy their junk
Reply
Brent Worrell 9:53PM (8/29/2009)
@farmer0904
well what would you do? keep a factory operating at half its volume (if that) and lose money in the process? i know i wouldnt. and what do you suggest we do buy? American?? i'll pass....
Harrison 12:17AM (8/30/2009)
Toyota has no obligations to the US economy. If they need to stop production somewhere, they'll do it - whether it's Asia or Europe.
To say "boycott Toyota!" because they moved to another factory is like boycotting a restaurant because they closed, relocated to another part of town, and hired new staff.