In Brief
Toyota said on Tuesday it will invest $912 million in five U.S. factories to expand production of hybrid vehicles to meet increasing demand.
The investment in hybrid vehicles — of which Toyota is a market leader — is part of the Japanese automaker’s recent announcement to spend up to $10 billion over the next five years in the United States. It also comes at time when Toyota, and the rest of the automotive industry, is trying to navigate the effects of tariffs and the end of federal tax credits for EVs.
The capital will be spread among five of Toyota’s factories in West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Missouri, and will largely focus on adding new production lines for components used in hybrid vehicles.
About $125 million will be spent to enable the production of a hybrid-electric Toyota Corolla, the first of this model to be assembled in the United States. The largest chunk, about $453 million, will go toward expanding production of 4-cylinder hybrid-compatible engines, sixth-generation hybrid transaxles, and rear motor components (called stators) at Toyota’s Buffalo, West Virginia, plant.