Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is the company's largest production facility in the world
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky: $1.3 Billion Investment Planned for Facility
Toyota will make a $1.3 billion investment at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky facility. The investment will equip the plant with better next generation vehicle production.
Updates will allow the facility to begin producing vehicles using the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA). The Camry will be the first Toyota vehicle made in the U.S. to utilize the TNGA production technology. Integration will start with the 2018 Camry model.
Along with incorporating TNGA into the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant, the investment will help update and modernize other components of the facility.
In addition, these updates include new equipment and the construction of an all-new paint shop.
What Is TNGA?
TNGA represents an entirely new holistic approach to the way Toyota conceives an automobile, from its design to its production. The unibody automobile platforms underpin some of the company’s mid-size car models, such as the Prius and Camry. Further, some Lexus models will also utilize this vehicle development.
These highly flexible modular platforms help reduce new vehicle development costs and let plants be more nimble in what they produce.
For their cars, Toyota says TNGA improves performance, from fuel efficiency to more responsive driving.
Historic Investment
Toyota’s $1.3 billion investment in Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is the largest of any automaker in Kentucky. Ford and Chevrolet also have production facilities located in the Bluegrass State.
“This is the largest investment in our plant’s history, and it speaks directly to the quality of our people and our products, as well as the partnership we’ve forged in the local community and across the state,” said Wil James, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky president.
“This major overhaul will enable the plant to stay flexible and competitive, further cementing our presence in Kentucky.”
Just in 2013 Toyota invested $530 million at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. That half-a-billion-dollar investment made the production of Lexus models possible. This new investment comes in addition to that. So in the past four years, Toyota has invested nearly $2 billion at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky.
Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz says this investment is part of a bigger $10 billion investment Toyota plans to make at U.S. facilities over the next five years. So we may expect more big ticket investment announcements in the coming months.
A Productive Facility
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is Toyota’s largest automotive plant in the world, not just in the U.S. They employ over 8,000 people.
Last year the facility produced more than a quarter of the Toyota vehicles produced in North America.
The facility has produced more than 11 million vehicles since it was built in 1986, which is considerable. That’s over one-third of all Toyota vehicles manufactured in North America.
