Toyota has started building batteries in the U.S. for the first time ever. On Wednesday, the company confirmed production had kicked off at its new $13.9 billion battery plant in Liberty, North Carolina, a facility that’s now officially the automaker’s first in-house battery factory outside Japan.
At the same time, Toyota said it would pump in an extra $10 billion into its U.S. operations over the next five years, on top of what was already planned, with no further specifics given.
Tetsuo Ogawa, CEO of Toyota Motor North America, described the moment as “pivotal” for the company, linking the comment directly to the new site opening.
The factory, originally announced back in December 2021, came out of the Biden administration’s push to shift battery production for hybrids and EVs back onto U.S. soil.
Since that announcement, the energy around electric vehicles has cooled, but hybrids (where Toyota dominates) have exploded in popularity.
Toyota reacts to market shift, EV rules, and Trump tariffs
As the EV market loses steam, Toyota has found itself in the sweet spot. Data from Motor Intelligence showed the company now holds a 51%+ share of all hybrid sales in the U.S., a space that’s growing faster than expected.
So, while other companies are trying to fix their all-EV strategies, Toyota’s hedged bet on hybrids is paying off. It’s not clear how much of this new $10 billion was already on the table before this announcement, but the company made it official just a few weeks after Donald Trump said Toyota would invest $10 billion in the U.S. if he returned to the White House.
Meanwhile, automakers are being hit from both ends; new EV regulations on one side and a wave of Trump-era tariffs on car parts and vehicles from the other. Toyota’s still maneuvering through it all. Yet despite the chaos, the company posted a 9.9% jump in U.S. sales through the third quarter, moving 1.3 million vehicles during that time.
The battery plant in Liberty is a centerpiece of Toyota’s U.S. strategy now. According to the company, the North Carolina facility is set to bring in over 5,100 new jobs to Randolph County. State officials were present at the launch event on Wednesday, including Governor Josh Stein, who said:
“Today we celebrate historic progress as Toyota scales battery production right here in North Carolina… This groundbreaking investment will create more than 5,000 new jobs for North Carolinians and will strengthen our clean energy economy.”
Don Stewart, president of Toyota North Carolina, added, “This is an exciting time for Toyota, the region, and the Tar Heel state. This significant milestone reflects our continued commitment to the thousands of North Carolinians Toyota will employ and the future economic growth of the Triad region.”
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