The 2021 midsize Venza is an Americanized version of the Japan-built Toyota Harrier. The two-row hybrid, slotted between the RAV4 and Highlander, is due in dealerships this summer and will boast up to 40 mpg — 5.9 L/100 km — in combined fuel economy, Toyota says.

The automaker made the decision “based on an extensive review with our supplier and logistics network.”

The automaker's ramp-up of its U.S. and Canadian plants will be gradual as workers "shake off the rust" and are trained in new procedures designed to keep them safe from COVID-19 infection, head of manufacturing Chris Reynolds said. Inventories are fine at the moment but demand looks to be more robust than executives had initially planned.

Toyota's decision came as multiple media outlets in Ontario reported that an employee at the Toyota plant in Cambridge, Ont., tested positive for COVID-19.

The recall involves several non-hybrid Toyota and Lexus models from the 2018 and 2019 model years. The automaker said the subject vehicles have a fuel pump that might stop operating.

Longtime Toyota North American chief Jim Lentz will be succeeded by Tetsuo "Ted" Ogawa, a Japanese national who's been a top executive at Toyota Motor North America for the past 12 years.

Toyota will add an all-wheel-drive version of its Camry midsize sedan for 2020 and an awd Avalon large sedan for the 2021 model year. Both will share the fuel-efficient awd system first used in the redesigned RAV4 compact crossover.

Volkswagen's five-seat version of the Atlas crossover, the 2020 Atlas Cross Sport, will feature more aggressive exterior styling than its larger namesake when it appears in showrooms early next year.

VW's Canadian and U.S. dealers will be wagonless for the first time since 1965 when output of the Golf SportWagen and Golf Alltrack wagons is discontinued at the end of the year. But, VW Canada has a plan to build up significant volume of the cars in order to offer them for sale through the end of 2020.

This is the third time Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. has received a J.D. Power platinum plant award. The automaker's Cambridge South Plant was awarded bronze for building the Lexus RX.

The midcycle makeover for the Japanese brand's most rugged three-row SUV seeks to add to its appearance as well as its safety features for both on- and off-road driving. But, Canadian vehicles won't have all the same trim packages as those in United States.

The enhancements to the RX and RXL infotainment systems are likely to migrate to other vehicles in the brand's lineup, said Lisa Materazzo, vice president of Lexus marketing.

The base Golf is the top-selling car for Volkswagen in Canada. If VW Canada is able to make a successful business case for the Golf, it would continue to be offered in the U.S. as well, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

The Highlander, the second-best-selling large crossover in Canada, is gaining new interior refinements, more standard safety gear and a better ride as part of a major 2020 redesign.

The latest freshening of the third-generation Toyota Tacoma will give the nation's top-selling midsize pickup a slightly altered look and model-dependent improved infotainment systems with special off-road goodies, while keeping the same powertrain choices.