Toyota’s Growing $13 Billion Investment in U.S.

Toyota’s Kentucky vehicle plant, the company’s largest globally, will begin production of the Lexus ES 300h hybrid in May 2019.

Toyota said today that it will exceed its 2017 pledge to invest $10 billion over five years with a new commitment to reach nearly $13 billion over the same period. Part of that commitment is an investment announcement of nearly $750 million in five different states.

The new investments include adding the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the best-selling SUV in the U.S., and Lexus ES 300h hybrid vehicle production at its Georgetown, Kentucky, manufacturing plant; expanding engine capacity at its Huntsville, Alabama, facility; doubling hybrid transaxle capacity at its plant in Buffalo, West Virginia; and a building expansion for additional castings at Bodine Aluminum’s Jackson, Tennessee, facility as well as additional castings at its Troy, Missouri, facility.

“These latest investments represent even more examples of our long-term commitment to build where we sell,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive officer for Toyota Motor North America. “By boosting our U.S. manufacturing footprint, we can better serve our customers and dealers and position our manufacturing plants for future success with more domestic capacity.”

• By 2021, Toyota will now to add nearly 600 new non-union jobs at American manufacturing plants
• Hybrid versions of the popular RAV4 and Lexus ES to be produced in Kentucky for the first time
• Production capacity increases and building expansions at Toyota’s unit plants in Huntsville, Alabama, Buffalo, West Virginia, Troy, Missouri, and Jackson, Tennessee

 State-by-State

Alabama: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama (TMMAL) – $288,000,000. In Alabama, Toyota’s investment will increase annual engine capacity from 670,000 to 900,000 by the end of 2021 to increase product flexibility and adapt to market demand. New 4-cylinder and V6 engine lines will add 450 new jobs to its Huntsville, Alabama, facility, the largest hiring in the plant’s history. The investment also includes a building expansion. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $1.2 billion.

Kentucky: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK) – $238,000,000. Toyota’s Kentucky vehicle plant, the company’s largest globally, will begin production of the Lexus ES 300h hybrid in May 2019 with annual capacity of 12,000 units while RAV4 Hybrid production will start January 2020 with an annual capacity of 100,000 units. TMMK’s 8,000 workers also build Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Lexus ES models with an annual capacity of 550,000 vehicles. Overall, the plant represents an investment of more than $7 billion.

Missouri: Bodine Aluminum Troy, Missouri – $62,000,000. Investments in Toyota’s Bodine Aluminum plant in Missouri will provide equipment to produce an additional 864,000 cylinder-heads for Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA). Bodine’s 900 Missouri workers currently produce more than 3 million cylinder heads a year, which are made for every Toyota and Lexus manufactured in North America. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $455 million.

Tennessee: Bodine Aluminum Jackson, Tennessee – $50,000,000. The Tennessee investment includes a building expansion and equipment to double the capacity of hybrid transaxle cases and housings to 240,000 annually. The investment will also provide equipment to produce an additional 288,000 engine blocks a year for TNGA. The plant’s 300 workers currently produce 1.7 million engine blocks a year, which supply every Toyota and Lexus manufactured in North America, and 580,000 transmission cases and housings. Bodine will add 13 new jobs to its facility in Tennessee. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $365 million.

West Virginia: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia (TMMWV) – $111,000,000. The West Virginia investment includes a building expansion and equipment to double capacity of hybrid transaxles from 120,000 units (Start of Production-2020) to 240,000 units annually in 2021. To meet the production demands, TMMWV will add 123 new jobs to its facility in Buffalo, West Virginia. Overall, the plant represents a $1.4 billion investment.

Ongoing Additional Investment

Toyota already has expansive presence in the U.S. with 10 manufacturing facilities. This past year, Toyota announced a joint venture with Mazda to build an additional plant in Huntsville, Alabama. The $1.6 billion joint investment will create up to 4,000 new jobs with production slated for 2021.

Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana, plant is undergoing a $600 million transformation (previously announced) to incorporate TNGA and increase Highlander capacity by 40,000 units annually. With this, Toyota is adding 400-plus people to its team in Indiana. In Blue Springs, Mississippi, Toyota is launching the all-new 2020 Corolla on the TNGA line that included a $170 million investment and an increase of 400 jobs (previously announced). Currently, Toyota employs more than 37,000 Americans.