Toyota Swaps Out the Corolla for a New SUV at Alabama Auto Plant

(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. is abandoning plans to make its Corolla compact car at a new factory it’s building in Alabama, choosing to manufacture a sport utility vehicle there instead.

The decision to switch gears at the plant in Huntsville, Alabama, reflects the “changing market demands and a growing appetite for light trucks and SUVs which are achieving record sales,” Toyota said in a statement. The automaker didn’t identify the SUV model.

The shift is an indication that the American consumer’s love affair with crossovers and SUVs may only intensify, though at the expense of mainstay sedan models. Two years ago, Toyota’s RAV4 compact SUV became the company’s top-selling model in the U.S., displacing the Camry mid-size sedan.

Toyota previously said it was on track to build its Corolla model at the Alabama plant, which is being built as part of a joint venture with Mazda Motor Corp. and is expected to start production in 2021. The factory, which the two automakers first announced in 2017, will make as many as 300,000 vehicles a year.

--With assistance from Alex Tanzi.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chester Dawson in Southfield at cdawson54@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net

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