Toyota says will invest $2.1 billion more in battery factory in North Carolina
2 min read 01 Jun 2023, 12:23 AM ISTThe factory, that's under construction, will supply batteries to the automaker’s huge complex in Georgetown, Kentucky
PremiumToyota Motor on Wednesday said it will invest another $2.1 billion in an electric and hybrid vehicle battery factory near Greensboro, North Carolina.
The factory, that's under construction, will supply batteries to the automaker’s huge complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, which will build Toyota's first US-made electric vehicle, a new SUV with three rows of seats.
The plans won't immediately create any more jobs at either the Kentucky or North Carolina factories. Toyota plans to employ 2,100 workers at the North Carolina battery factory, which will start production in 2025.
Susan Elkington, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, said the new vehicle reflects the company's journey toward an electrified future.
Toyota will tap into a “growing market segment" with its new three-row SUV, Elkington also said.
The latest investment brings the total investment in the Randolph County plant to $5.9 billion to meet the company's goal of selling 1.8 million electric or hybrid vehicles in the U.S by 2030.
Currently, the 9 million square foot Kentucky complex employs 9,500 workers who make the Camry sedan, RAV4 Hybrid SUV, several engines and other components.
Toyota said jobs will shift to the new electric vehicle when production starts in 2025.
The automaker said that the North Carolina battery plant will have six battery production lines, four for gas-electric hybrid vehicles and two for fully electric vehicle batteries.
“With this proactive infrastructure investment, we will be able to quickly support future expansion opportunities to meet growing customer need," Sean Suggs, president of Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina, said in a statement.
“We truly believe that electrification is truly hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell, all-electric," he said. “And that’s what the customers are telling us as well. And we believe that there’s going to be a gradual approach to electrification going forward."
Toyota Motor Corp. plans to sell 2 million zero emission hydrogen and battery electric vehicles worldwide per year by 2030. In the US, the company plans to sell 1.5 million to 1.8 million vehicles by 2030 that are at least partially electrified.
The factory near Greensboro is relatively close to many of Toyota’s existing U.S. auto assembly plants in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama and Texas.
Toyota now offers the bZ4X electric compact crossover, built on the e-TNGA platform. That stands for Toyota New Global Architecture, and is also used in its Prius and Lexus models. The electric platform was developed in collaboration with Subaru.
The bZ4X is available in Japan, the US, and parts of Europe, such as Germany and Britain, as well as China and Thailand.
(With inputs from AP)
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