Toyota to Bring Production of First Hybrid Powertrain to US

Toyota has made an investment of $373.8 million in five U.S. manufacturing plants. The investment was aimed to support the production of one of its first American-made hybrid powertrains and to implement Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA) at its Alabama plant. Both projects are already scheduled to begin this year and are expected to be operational by the year 2020.

This investment includes adding new production of hybrid transaxles (hybrid vehicle transmissions) at the Buffalo, West Virginia facility, expanding production of 2.5 liter cylinder heads in the Missouri plant at Bodine Aluminum’s Troy, extending 2.5 liter engine capacity at the Georgetown, Kentucky plant and customizing the Bodine Jackson, Tennessee plant to accommodate production of hybrid transaxle cases as well as housings and 2.5 liter engine blocks. The Alabama plant will go through an inclusive upgrade which will enable it to build engines that complement TNGA.

“This investment is part of our long-term commitment to build more vehicles and components in the markets in which we sell them,” said Jim Lentz, CEO, Toyota Motor North America. “This strategy is designed to better serve our customers and dealers, and positions our manufacturing operations to fulfill their needs well into the future.”

These 2.5 liter engines manufactured in Kentucky and transaxles made in West Virginia will be used in hybrid vehicles that are built in North America, like the Highlander Hybrid, which is manufactured in Princeton, Indiana.

Toyota still remains the world leader in the field of gas – electric hybrids, with more than $3 million sales in the U.S. and $10 million globally. There will be fifty new jobs due to this investment at the Alabama plant. All of these investments will help in gaining the future stability of the plants’ employment level, which is one of the most important issues.

“This investment across five American plants expands capacity for our latest TNGA engines, and localizes production of hybrid powertrains, a core Toyota technology,” said Jeff Moore, senior vice president for Manufacturing. “It underscores Toyota’s confidence in the capability and global competitiveness of our North American manufacturing.”

This total investment of $373.8 million will be distributed as follows:

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, KY – $120,960,000
Bodine Aluminum Jackson, TN – $14,500,000
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, WV – $115,300,000
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, AL – $106,000,000
Bodine Aluminum Troy, MO – $17,050,000

With these and other, previously announced  projects, Toyota is moving this company almost halfway ($4.1 billion), approaching its commitment of investing $10 billion in the U.S. as announced by Toyota Motor Corporation CEO Akio Toyoda in January 2017.

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