Toyota to Funnel 1 B. Dollars into 2 U.S. Plants

New York, March 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will funnel a total of 1 billion dollars into two U.S. plants to expand production of electrified vehicles in the country. The plan is part of Toyota’s broader push to bolster U.S. manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicles, backed by up to 10 billion dollars in investment over five years announced in November last year. The automaker will allocate 800 million dollars to its Kentucky plant to upgrade lines for new electric vehicle production scheduled to begin in 2028. This will be the second EV model produced at the plant. The investment will also raise output capacity for the RAV4 compact SUV, as well as the Camry sedan, which Toyota is considering shipping to Japan At its Indiana plant, Toyota will expand production capacity for the Grand Highlander mid-sized SUV with a 200-million-dollar investment. “Toyota’s investment in the United States is long-term, grounded in the principle of building where we sell and sourcing where we build,” an executive at a Toyota subsidiary in the United States said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]