WASHINGTON, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- For over 60 years
Toyota has been growing its manufacturing presence in the United States, and today the company
announced 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 seen today with an investment
announcement of nearly $750 million
in five different states, with more to come. 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."
A state-by-state look at the new investments totaling
$749 million and 586 new
jobs:
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 better accommodate market
demand. New 4-cylinder and V6 engine
lines will add 450 new jobs to its
Huntsville, Alabama, facility, the
largest hiring need 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 team members 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 team members 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 team members
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
Today's news builds upon Toyota's already expansive presence in
the U.S., which includes 10 manufacturing facilities. This past
year, Toyota announced a joint venture with Mazda to build an
additional plant in the U.S. The $1.6
billion joint investment will create up to 4,000 new jobs in
Huntsville, Alabama, with
production slated for 2021. Meanwhile, 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.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the
U.S. and North America for more
than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable,
next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus
brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous
value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design,
engineering, and assembly of more than 38 million cars and trucks
in North America, where we operate
14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more
than 47,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800
North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.8
million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2018 – and
about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 16 years
are still on the road today.
Media contacts:
Marjorie Schussel
(469) 292-2404
marjorie.schussel@toyota.com
Rick Hesterberg
502-868-2135
Rick.hesterberg@toyota.com
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America