Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is getting a $461 million investment that aims to improve its ability to produce next-generation vehicles while reducing its carbon footprint. The vehicle plant, Toyota’s first in the United States and the largest Toyota plant in the world, is now 35 years old and routinely being updated in the face of the changing automotive landscape.
Toyota says the investment has three main purposes: to enhance the facilities and equipment, expand its powertrain capabilities, and change its employment structure. Currently, TMMK employs about 9,000 people, though 1,400 are temp jobs sourced via Kelly Services, an office staffing company. Part of the investment will be devoted to offering these temporary workers, as well as all new hires a direct position at TMMK.
Made In Kentucky: 2022 Toyota Camry
Some of Toyota’s bestselling products are assembled at TMMK, including the Camry, Camry Hybrid, and RAV4 Hybrid. The plant’s powertrain operations will be expanded to make room for a new turbocharged 2.4-liter engine, which the company believes will give it more flexibility in offering “a full portfolio of products, meeting current and future customer demand.”
Toyota began transforming TMMK in 2017 when it invested $1.3 billion to roll out its latest modular manufacturing platform along with a new paint operation. The latest investment is just another step in that transformation, and it won’t be the last. The automaker estimates that by the time TMMK is fully prepared for the next generation of cars, it will have invested more than $8.5 billion in the American manufacturing plant.
“Kentucky’s automotive industry is growing at a record pace, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is at the center of that growth,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “Toyota changed the landscape of manufacturing in our state when the Georgetown facility first opened more than 30 years ago, and now the company is preparing for growth. I am thrilled that future will include Kentucky in a significant way.”
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.