Toyota adds $200M, 80+ local jobs to its largest global plant in KY
As part of a multi-year, long-term investment in manufacturing hybrid cars, Toyota is putting more than $204 million and 82 new jobs in Kentucky.
The investment and new jobs will make the Japanese automaker’s largest global plant in Georgetown able to add and staff an all-new manufacturing system to make engines compatible with hybrid vehicles by 2027.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is Toyota’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world and produces between 550,000 and 600,000 vehicles annually, according to the automaker.
More than 14 million cars have rolled off Kentucky assembly lines since the plant started production in 1988.
Now, full-time employment at the 9-million-square-foot plant is approximately 9,950 people who make the Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES 350 and 300h as well as four-cylinder and V-6 engines.
The $204.4 million investment is part of a larger $912 million announcement across five of the automaker’s American manufacturing plants that will add a total 252 jobs in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri and Mississippi, to increase hybrid vehicle capacity and add hybrid-electric Corollas to its production lineup.
Toyota committed to investing up to $10 billion in the U.S. in the next five years and is starting by building more cars where they’re sold, said Toyota’s Senior Vice President of Manufacturing Operations Kevin Voelkel in a news release about the expansion.
“Customers are embracing Toyota’s hybrid vehicles, and our U.S. manufacturing teams are gearing up to meet that growing demand,” Voelkel said. “Toyota’s philosophy is to build where we sell, and by adding more American jobs and investing across out U.S. footprint, we continue to stay true to that philosophy.”
According to Toyota, North American manufacturing facilities, like the one in Georgetown, assemble more than 76% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. About half of the company’s U.S. sales are from the automaker’s electrified vehicles, including hybrids, plug-ins and all-electric cars.
In the news release, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the automaker’s presence in the Bluegrass State has “driven decades of success,” and he was proud to see another investment.
U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, who represents Kentucky’s 6th District, which includes Georgetown, thanked Toyota for its continued commitment to U.S. manufacturing.
“Toyota’s expansion across the country will create hundreds of good-paying jobs, strengthen America’s manufacturing base, and drive economic growth in our communities,” he said.
Last year, motor vehicles made in Kentucky totaled $4.4 billion in export sales, an increase of 18% compared to the previous year. Motor vehicle parts totaled nearly $2 billion, and engines, turbines and power transmission equipment totaled more than $1.7 billion, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division.
In December 2024, Toyota said it would invest $922 million in a new paint facility in Georgetown scheduled to open in 2027. In February 2024, the automaker invested $1.3 billion in its Georgetown facility for future electric vehicle production, starting with a three-row electric SUV anticipated to come to market in 2026.
Sales of electrified Toyota and Lexus vehicles made up for 47% of total sales volume during this year’s third quarter, the automaker reported at the start of October.
Toyota Motor North America sold 282,794 EVs during the months of July, August and September, up 10.5% on a volume basis. Between Toyota and Lexus brands, 30 EVs are available in dealerships.
Federal incentives for electric vehicles expired Sept. 30.
In West Virginia, Toyota is investing $453 million and adding 80 jobs to increase assembly of a four-cylinder, hybrid-compatible engines, hybrid transaxles and rear motor stators.
At Toyota’s Mississippi plant, the automaker is investing $125 million to add production of the hybrid-electric Corolla — marking the first electrified Corollas assembled in the U.S.
Toyota is adding three all-new production lines and increasing production capacity by nearly 500,000 cars annually in Tennessee. An additional 33 jobs will support an increase in production of car parts and a $71.4 million will make the new production lines possible.
In Missouri, Toyota is adding 57 jobs and investing $57.1 million to create a new cylinder head production line for EVs, increasing production capacity by more than 200,000 units annually.
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