Toyota has begun to export US-assembled Camry sedans to South Korea this week, part of a targeted annual volume of 6,000 units. The first shipment of vehicles is expected to be with its distributor, Toyota Motor Korea Company, in early January a spokesperson for the carmaker told Automotive Logistics.
The vehicles will be made at the carmaker’s Georgetown plant in Kentucky, its largest manufacturing facility outside of Japan, and shipped by rail to the port of Hueneme, near Oxnard, in California. “We will be working with several rail carriers to get the Camry from Kentucky to California, including Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific,” added the spokesperson.
From Hueneme port the cars will be carried to Pyeongtaek port in South Korea by NYK Line.
The latest announcement follows Toyota’s decision to begin exports of its Sienna minivan from the US to South Korea, which began in September, also from the port of Hueneme and also moved by NYK. The Sienna is manufactured at Toyota’s Princeton facility in Indiana (read more here).
As with the Sienna, this is the first time that the US-assembled Camry has been exported outside of the country, but Toyota began exporting other US-assembled vehicles in 1988 and last year these increased 30% to approximately 100,000 units. Other exports include the Kentucky-produced Avalon sedan, the Indiana-produced Sequoia SUV and the Texas-produced Tacoma and Tundra pick-up trucks. Toyota now exports US-assembled vehicles to 19 countries around the world.
“We are pleased with the reaction that the redesigned Camry is receiving from our customers, and the sales success it is having in the US and overseas,” said Yoshimi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America. “The export of thousands of Camry vehicles to South Korea is an important development that builds on the great work of our talented US team members as well as our extensive investments across North America to help maintain a strong, stable base of US jobs. We look forward to other opportunities to continue growing exports from our American operations.”
