Toyota Invests $8 Billion to Expand EV Battery Facility in North Carolina

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Written By Blue & Gold NLR Team

 

 

Toyota has made a significant $8 billion investment to expand its electric vehicle EV battery manufacturing facility in Randolph County, North Carolina. This brings the company’s total investment in the site to $13.9 billion.

The expansion is expected to create over 5,000 new jobs, providing a boost to the local economy. This announcement follows a recent meeting between North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Toyota President Koji Sato at the SEUS/Japan Conference in Tokyo, marking a further deepening of the partnership between the state and the company.

Governor Cooper celebrated this growing partnership, highlighting his recent trip to Tokyo as key in securing this investment. He emphasized that the expansion is part of North Carolina’s broader strategy to transition toward a clean energy economy, generating higher-paying jobs and long-term economic benefits for local communities.

North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders praised the investment as evidence of the state’s leadership in the electric vehicle sector.

She noted the importance of aligning economic development with workforce training to meet the needs of rapidly growing industries like EVs and clean energy, solidifying the state’s position as a top business and manufacturing hub.

The expanded investment will allow Toyota to increase its battery production capacity significantly. In addition to batteries for electric vehicles, the facility will now also produce batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles, with the addition of eight new production lines, surpassing the original two lines planned.

This move underscores Toyota’s commitment to meeting the rising demand for electrified vehicles and supporting the clean energy transition.

Governor Cooper’s efforts to build strong ties with Japanese companies like Toyota have resulted in billions of dollars in investments and thousands of new jobs in high-growth sectors, such as electric vehicles, aerospace, and biotechnology, reinforcing North Carolina’s reputation as a thriving center for innovation and manufacturing.

 

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