Officials have confirmed the fifth generation Toyota Avalon will begin production in 2018 at the company’s factory in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Factory officials have told Wards Auto that only once the all new 2019 Avalon enters production next year will the factory gain start gaining the production benefits of the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA).
The new Avalon will be based TNGA, like the 2018 Camry is. TNGA has a lower center of gravity for better handling, more component sharing, and is 20 percent cheaper to make, but scale and phasing out non-TNGA models will improve efficiency and make the effort to retool worthwhile.
The Avalon will have a longer wheelbase and body than the Camry. Georgetown, Kentucky, will also begin producing the 2019 Lexus ES, based on the Avalon, “soon afterward”.
Source: Wards Auto
Note: Current XX40 Toyota Avalon and XV60 Lexus ES pictured.
