Toyota will make Camrys in Indiana | IndyStar.com

Lafayette Indiana Subaru Plant to Make Toyota Camrys

It's official, Toyota will make Camrys in the under-utilized Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru) plant in Lafayette, Indiana. When GM severed its relationship with Subaru, it gave Toyota a chance to swoop in and fill the gap. Now the taxpayers in Indiana are going to pay Toyota $97 million to crank out 100,000 Camrys a year. (I personally think Toyota would have completed the deal with no taxypayer incentives whatsoever. There was no more cost-effective way to add Camry capacity.)

In addition, Subaru gets access to Toyota's hybrid technology. This is a win-win deal for Subaru, it gets a product to fill in excess capacity, and it gets the technology they need to remain the leader in civilized all-wheel-drive. For passenger cars, hybrid power is the way to go for adding all-wheel-drive capability. Subaru's current system adds about 200 lbs. to the weight of an otherwise fwd sedan, and it also contributes to drivetrain power loss. In contrast, compact electric motors on all four wheels with a hybrid battery pack add about the same amount of weight, but also add additional power. With regenerative regnerative braking, a hybrid drivetrain recycles energy that would otherwise be lost.

Toyota will make Camrys in Indiana | IndyStar.com