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Apr. 19—To support increased production of four-cylinder engines, including hybrid-electric engines, Toyota plans to invest $383 million in four of its U.S. engine manufacturing plants.
The investment includes $222 million in Toyota's Huntsville, Alabama plant, to create a new four-cylinder production line; $16 million in the Georgetown, Kentucky, to expand its four-cylinder engine line; $109 million in the Troy, Missouri plant, for new equipment to build four-cylinder engines; and $36 million in the Jackson, Tennessee plant to update equipment to build new four-cylinder engine blocks.
"Toyota customers want vehicles that are fuel-efficient and electrified," said Norm Bafunno, senior vice president of Unit Manufacturing and Engineering at Toyota. "These investments allow us to meet customer needs and quickly respond to an evolving market."
Toyota Alabama will create a new four-cylinder production line with the capacity to produce engines for both combustion and hybrid electric powertrains. Additionally, the facility will expand its footprint by 114,000 square feet, which marks the plant's sixth building expansion since 2003. Toyota Alabama has the capacity to build 900,000 engines annually and represents a nearly $1.5 billion investment.
Toyota Kentucky is expanding flexibility of the four-cylinder engine line announced last fall, which will better position the plant to meet customer demand. The plant's powertrain facility can produce up to 600,000 units annually. Toyota Kentucky is the company's largest plant globally, producing seven Toyota and Lexus models, as well as four-cylinder and six-cylinder powertrains. Overall, the plant represents an $8.5 billion investment.
Toyota Missouri's investment provides new equipment to build four-cylinder engine heads on three production lines. The plant has the capacity to build more than 3 million cylinder heads annually and represents a $564 million investment.
Toyota Tennessee will update equipment to build new four-cylinder engine blocks. The plant has the capacity to produce more than 2 million engine blocks annually and represents a $425 million investment.
Last year, Toyota announced new investments totaling $5.1 billion into its U.S. manufacturing operations to support electrification efforts[
Toyota's U.S. plants produce half of the vehicles it sells in the U.S., and its North American assembly facilities produce more than three-quarters (76%) of the vehicles it sells in the U.S.