The investment will increase Toyota engine production at the Kentucky plant to 500,000 annually.
Toyota announced today that it would increase annual engine assembly capacity of 4-cylinder engines by more than 100,000 at its plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. The ongoing challenges that the strong Japanese Yen present to Japanese makers, as well as the need for more fuel-efficient engines under revised CAFE regulations prompted the $30 million expansion. The increase will raise total employment to approximately 6,700 and total plant investment to more than $5.96 billion.
The additional capacity will result in only 80 new jobs since engine plants are highly automated, and require few skilled workers to monitor the computerized processes that do much of the work.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK) currently assembles engines for the Avalon, Camry and Venza, all built at TMMK. The capacity increase will supply engines for TMMK’s Camry and Camry Hybrid and RAV4 in Woodstock, Ontario.
This investment will increase engine production at the Kentucky plant to more than 500,000 annually and will increase total engine production in the United States to more than 1.2 million per year. Toyota also has engine plants in Alabama and West Virginia.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
