July 11, 2019—Toyota said on Wednesday it will build a new sport utility vehicle at a $1.6 billion joint venture assembly plant in Alabama rather than produce Corolla cars, accordingto Reuters. Toyota said it still expects production to start in 2021.
Last week, the company said U.S. Corolla sales fell 5 percent in the first six months to 152,868, while overall Toyota car sales fell 8 percent. Its U.S. SUV sales only fell 1 percent over the same period.
Toyota will continue to build Corolla cars at its Mississippi plant. Mazda said previously it would build a new SUV at the joint venture plant that will assemble up to 300,000 vehicles annually.
