Toyota announces record investment in US battery plant, creating thousands of jobs

The new $8 billion brings Toyota’s total investment in the North Carolina production center to approximately $13.9 billion. The move is designed to increase capacity to support the manufacturing of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

Eight more Beef/PHEV The production lines will operate side by side with the two previously announced lines. Thus, approximately 3,000 new jobs will be created at Toyota Battery Manufacturing in North Carolina, for a total of more than 5,000 jobs. The company is already looking for employees and asks interested people to apply for open positions by submitting their resumes on the official website.

The facility will increase production in stages. The 10 lines will reach a total output of more than 30 GWh per year by 2030. Toyota is thus trying to demonstrate its commitment to electrification and carbon reduction.

In 2021, when Toyota announced the new Liberty site, it all started with a $1.29 billion investment in battery production and 1,750 new jobs. With the new investment, Toyota North Carolina becomes one of the most important and largest lithium-ion battery production centers in North America. The campus covers seven million square feet, the equivalent of 121 football fields.

Over the years, Toyota has sent more than 24.6 million hybrids, fuel cell hybrids and battery electric vehicles onto roads around the world. Butt the automaker was late in Eve The party is betting first on hybrid cars such as the flagship Prius and on hydrogen fuel cell engines with the Mirai.

The first electric vehicle introduced by Toyota was the bZ4x compact crossover, which entered production in April 2022. This model is built on the e-TNGA platform, and is marketed in the domestic market of Japan, as well as the United States, Canada, Europe and Europe. And China. The bZ4x can be ordered with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, depending on the powertrain the customer chooses: single-motor or dual-motor.

The bZ4x should be just the beginning, if all goes according to Toyota’s plan. The automaker plans to have an electric version of every model in the lineup globally, including Lexus. The investment in the North Carolina facility should help Toyota advance efforts to electrify the entire portfolio. Toyota is trying to bridge the gap with Tesla and BYD, the leading manufacturers of electric cars.

North Carolina is clearly emerging as a leading center for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. To demonstrate its involvement in the community, Toyota has also donated up to $200,000 to local non-profit organizations and educational initiatives.