CAMBRIDGE — Toyota will build the RAV4 sport utility vehicle in Cambridge, replacing the Corolla when production of the compact car shifts to Mexico.

The automaker will start making the popular small SUV in the Cambridge North plant in 2019, the same year production of the Corolla begins in Mexico, Toyota said Tuesday.

The company already makes the RAV4 in Woodstock. With the expansion of production to the North plant, and production of the Lexus RX in the Cambridge South plant, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) will become the automaker's North American hub for sport utility vehicles, the company said. Toyota also said it will be adding production of hybrid version of the RAV4.

"This is good news" Brian Krinock, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, said in an interview. "This shows our commitment to producing in Canada for the long term,"

The announcement answers questions about the future of the North plant that have lingered since April when Toyota announced that production of the Corolla will move to a new $1-billion U.S. plant in Guanajuato, Mexico. Corollas have been made in Cambridge since Toyota opened its plant here in 1988.

In April, Toyota said that with the departure of the Corolla, the Cambridge plant would focus on producing higher-value, mid-sized vehicles.

The addition of the RAV4 goes a long way toward meeting that commitment.

Krinock noted that the small sport utility vehicle market has outperformed the mid-sized car market, and within that segment the RAV4 is one of the top-selling vehicles.

Through the first 10 months of the year, Toyota sold 291,753 RAV4s in North America, up 14.6 per cent in the same period in 2014. Among Toyota models, only the Corolla had higher sales.

Krinock said he couldn't comment on employment levels at the plant in 2019. But he stressed that Tuesday's announcement demonstrates "our commitment to employment stability going forward."

Toyota employs about 8,500 people at its plants in Cambridge and Woodstock.

Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig said that although he knew Toyota was committed to replacing Corolla production, he is delighted to learn that the Cambridge plant will make the RAV4.

"It is not as if they are going to produce a vehicle that is new or is not popular, or may not continue," he said. "The outcome for Cambridge and the surrounding area is very positive."

Krinock said the news for Cambridge gets even better because Toyota will be invest "hundreds of millions of dollars" in the North plant. The investment not only will get the plant ready to produce the RAV4, it also will include the introduction of a new approach to building vehicles called the Toyota New Global Architecture.

The program is intended to boost quality, and improve efficiency by building more models on common platforms, and standardizing parts across different models.

Adopting the new architecture will give the North plant more flexibility and the ability to produce larger platforms, Krinock said.

"That is the best news you can have," he said. "We will have the flexibility to adapt to changing consumer tastes in the future."

Krinock noted that when the project is implemented in 2019, "we will have been making vehicles in Canada for 30 years. This investment will revitalize our plant and create the foundation for our future success."

Brad Duguid, Ontario's minister of economic development, applauded Toyota's announcement.

It "is positive news for our auto sector, and I'm pleased Toyota will continue to significantly invest in Ontario," he said in a statement. "By choosing Ontario to build a leading next generation vehicle, Toyota is again highlighting their confidence in our extremely skilled workforce and in our world-class reputation for quality vehicle manufacturing."