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Toyota Motor’s latest compact crossover will roll out of a plant in Ontario starting in December, a sign of the Japanese automaker’s commitment to making cars in Canada.

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The updated, hybrid-only Lexus NX is one of three models made at Toyota’s 38-year-old factory complex in Cambridge, Ontario, along with the Toyota RAV4 crossover and Lexus RX SUV. While some of those are sold locally, about 85% are earmarked for export — mostly to the much larger and more lucrative U.S. market.

It also builds the RAV4 at another Ontario facility located about 48 kilometers away. The plants produced a combined 537,518 vehicles last year, making Toyota the largest vehicle manufacturer in Canada.

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Toyota invested $1.1 billion in its Canadian operations for the latest RAV4 model, which began production in January, and hundreds of millions of dollars more for the newest NX. With all of the carmaker’s factories running at or close to full capacity, **Toyota sees Canada as a vital cog in its global manufacturing network **and key to its four-decade localization efforts.

“We’re fully committed to making cars in Canada for the long term,” Scott MacKenzie, director of corporate affairs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, said in an interview, noting its local factories run two full shifts plus regular overtime. “We continue to invest here and think Canada is a great place to make cars.”

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The commitment to Canada by Toyota and fellow Japanese automaker Honda Motor comes at a time when competition is being stoked by the entry of Chinese-made cars. While the number of permitted imports from China remains relatively small — about 50,000 vehicles a year — that allotment will steadily grow under a deal Ottawa reached earlier this year with Beijing.

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