Toyota Greens Up Greensboro With Billion Dollar Electric Car Battery Plant Investment
New North Carolina Factory Will Build Batteries for Upward of 1.2 US Electric Toyotas a Year
Toyota Motor North America confirmed this week that it has picked the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite in North Carolina to build its new battery manufacturing plant. It will be Toyota’s first US auto battery facility. It will produce enough battery packs to power 1.2 million electrified vehicles a year across North America.
Batteries For As Many As 1.2 Million Electrified Toyotas
The new deal represents a $1.29 billion Toyota and Toyota Tsushi investment, partially funded by a $3.4 billion outlay already announced on 18 October. The Greensboro battery factory is expected to create 1,750 new American jobs on four production lines by 2025. Each line will be capable of delivering enough lithium-ion batteries to power 200,000 vehicles. That will expand to at least six production lines to supply battery packs for up to 1.2 million electric vehicles a year.
“The Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is the ideal location to make the future of mobility electrification a reality,” Toyota Motor North America CEO Ted Ogawa confirmed. “North Carolina offers the right infrastructure, a quality education system, access to a diverse and skilled workforce. “It’s a welcoming environment for doing business. “Today is the beginning of a mutually beneficial journey to carbon neutrality and mobility for all with the Tar Heel state.”
“I’m glad that Toyota Battery Manufacturing has chosen to call North Carolina its home,” Governor Roy Cooper confirmed. “This investment in our state is a testament to our world class workforce and growing economy. “North Carolina is working hard every day toward a clean energy future and projects like this will help us get there.”
Greensboro is Perfect For a Greener Future
Toyota employs more than 36,000 people to build over 30 million vehicles at 10 plants across the US. The availability of renewable energy as well as local and government support as core in choosing the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. Other plusses included an extensive highway system, onsite rail, four international airports and two seaports. And an outstanding and diverse workforce.
The Greensboro announcement comes on top of a raft of other recent Toyota renewable motoring announcements around the world. As it chases carbon neutrality by 2050. That includes the likelihood that it will use solid-state batteries in its future hybrid vehicles. Before it introduces that technology to EVs. The company also recently showed a concept version of its first bZ4X battery electric car depicted in these images. Along with plans to introduce 15 BEVs globally by 2025.
Images: Toyota