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Toyota to build Miss. SUV plant
February 27, 2007

By JOE GUY COLLIER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Toyota Motor Corp. announced this morning plans to build a $1.3-
billion assembly plant near Tupelo., Miss., expected to open in 2010.

The plant, which will employ 2,000 people, will have the capacity to
build 150,000 vehicles a year of Toyota's Highlander SUV.

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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour called the Toyota plant the "crown
jewel of economic development."

"Thank you for seeing how bright Mississippi's future is," Barbour
said at a news conference from Tupelo High School.

With U.S. sales growing at more than 12% last year, Toyota's North
American production capacity has been stretched. Toyota opened a
Tundra plant in Texas last fall. A Camry plant is opening this year in
Indiana and a RAV4 plant is slated to open next year in Ontario.

The plant will be built on a 1,700 acre site at Blue Springs, land
that has been promoted for economic development.

Mississippi was chosen in a competition with Tennessee and Arkansas.

The plant will be the second carmaker to locate in the state. Nissan
Motor Corp. opened its assembly plant north of Jackson in 2003. The
4,000-employee plant produced about 278,000 vehicles last year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.