Toyota Motor has announced it plans to invest US$90m in new facilities for the production electric vehicle (EV) components in the US, as it looks to strengthen its EV strategy in the region.
The Japanese automaker said it will invest US$73m in a new facility at its Buffalo plant in West Virginia with an initial annual production capacity of 120,000 rear motor stators, a key EV driveline component. This follows an announcement late last year of plans to invest US$240m in a new production line for hybrid powertrains at the same site.
David Rosier, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing West Virginia, said in a statement “Toyota is moving quickly toward an electrified future and West Virginia will play a critical role in that journey”.
The Buffalo plant current employs around 2,000 workers, after 100 jobs were added last year following a US$210m investment to expand four- and six-cylinder engine production capacity.
A further US$17m will be invested to increase production capacity of hybrid transaxle cases at the company’s Jackson plant in Tennessee.
In late 2021 Toyota announced plans to invest US$1.3bn to build an electric/hybrid vehicle battery plant in North Carolina.