Toyota Motor Corp. announced Wednesday it will invest up to $10 billion in its US operations over the next five years, confirming plans that President Donald Trump had mentioned during his visit to Japan last month.
The Japanese automaker announced that it officially began production at its new $13.9 billion battery manufacturing plant in Liberty, North Carolina — Toyota’s first battery facility outside Japan.
With the new commitment, Toyota has now pledged nearly $60 billion to its American operations since entering the US market nearly seven decades ago. The company declined to specify how it will use the additional funds.
“Today’s launch of Toyota’s first US battery plant and additional US investment up to $10 billion marks a pivotal moment in our company’s history,” said Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America.
The North Carolina facility, spanning 1,850 acres, can produce 30 gigawatt-hours of batteries annually at full capacity. The plant is Toyota’s 11th American manufacturing facility and will employ up to 5,100 workers operating 14 production lines dedicated to batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and battery electric vehicles.
Across its US manufacturing network, Toyota now employs approximately 50,000 people and has assembled more than 35 million vehicles domestically since beginning American production.
The announcement comes as Toyota dominates the US hybrid market with more than 51% market share through the third quarter of 2025, according to Motor Intelligence data. While demand for all-electric vehicles has slowed, hybrid sales continue growing rapidly.
Batteries from the North Carolina plant will initially power the Camry hybrid, Corolla Cross hybrid, RAV4 hybrid, and a yet-to-be-announced all-electric three-row SUV.
The investment follows Trump’s statement during his Tokyo visit last month that Toyota planned to invest $10 billion in the US. Toyota initially dismissed Trump’s announcement as speculation.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy praised the announcement Wednesday, calling it “the latest show of confidence in this administration’s efforts to reshore manufacturing, generate new, great-paying jobs and inject billions of dollars into the economy.”
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