Toyota to Invest $2.1 Billion More in North Carolina Battery Plant, Will Build Big SUV at Factory in Kentucky
FRANKFORT, Ky.—Toyota will invest another $2.1 billion in an electric and hybrid vehicle battery factory that’s under construction near Greensboro, North Carolina.
The plant will supply batteries to Toyota’s huge complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, which will build Toyota’s first U.S.-made electric vehicle, a new SUV with three rows of seats.
The plans, announced Wednesday, won’t immediately create any more jobs at either the Kentucky or North Carolina factories. Susan Elkington, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, said the new vehicle reflects the company’s “journey toward an electrified future.”
Toyota will tap into a “growing market segment” with its new three-row SUV, Elkington said. She sidestepped media questions Wednesday regarding specific details of the new vehicle, saying: “I know everybody really wants to know about the vehicle, but today’s announcement is really about our manufacturing location.”…