Toyota announced Wednesday it has officially begun production at its new $13.9 billion battery manufacturing plant in North Carolina, while committing an additional $10 billion to bolster its U.S. manufacturing over the next five years.
The 1,850-acre facility in Liberty, North Carolina, marks the automaker’s first battery plant outside Japan and is expected to create up to 5,100 new American jobs, Toyota said.
“Today’s launch of Toyota’s first U.S. battery plant and additional U.S. investment up to $10 billion marks a pivotal moment in our company’s history,” said Ted Ogawa, CEO of Toyota Motor North America. “Toyota is a pioneer in electrified vehicles, and the company’s significant manufacturing investment in the U.S. and North Carolina further solidifies our commitment to team members, customers, dealers, communities, and suppliers. “Alongside the plant’s launch, Toyota announced an additional $10 billion investment in its U.S. operations over the next five years to “support future mobility efforts.”
“This will bring the company’s total U.S. investment to nearly $60 billion since beginning operations here nearly 70 years ago,” the company said.
Once at full capacity, the North Carolina plant will produce 30 gigawatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries annually to power Toyota’s lineup of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric vehicles. The facility features 14 production lines, which will create batteries to power the Camry HEV, Corolla Cross HEV, RAV4 HEV and an all-electric three-row battery electric vehicle (BEV) – the first of its kind for Toyota to be built in the U.S., according to Toyota.
Additional production lines are expected to launch by 2030.
Beyond manufacturing, Toyota said the facility will also be a “vibrant community,” offering childcare services, a medical clinic, pharmacy and fitness center for employees. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy praised Toyota’s announcement, calling it another “show of confidence in this administration’s efforts to reshore manufacturing, generate new, great paying jobs, and inject billions of dollars into the economy.”
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