OREANDA-NEWS. November 01, 2011.Toyota today announced plans to begin exporting U.S.-built Sienna vehicles to distributors in South Korea.

The Sienna is produced at Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Princeton, IN. A top seller in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, this is the first time the vehicle will be exported outside of North America. Shipments are scheduled to begin in early November.

Toyota began exporting U.S.-built vehicles in 1988. These exports increased 30% in calendar year 2010 to about 100,000 units. With the start of these shipments to South Korea, Toyota will now export U.S.-assembled vehicles to 19 countries around the world.

Other export vehicles include the Georgetown, KY-produced Avalon sedan, the Princeton, IN-produced Sequoia SUV and the San Antonio, TX-produced Tacoma and Tundra pick-up trucks. Combined, these three U.S. plants directly employ more than 12,500 team members. They are also responsible for an estimated 65,000 other U.S. jobs at vendors and suppliers.

“Toyota’s North American operations are constantly working to identify and expand new export opportunities for the vehicles we produce here, building on our extensive investments in auto production, research and development in the U.S. and helping to maintain a strong, stable base of jobs,” said Yoshimi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. “With this development and other possible achievements in the future, we hope to continue boosting exports from our North American operations.”

Sienna exports to South Korea are initially forecasted at approximately 600 units annually.