Toyota to spend $800M at Georgetown plant. Here’s what it will be used for
Toyota is injecting more money in its Kentucky plant.
The car manufacturer, which is celebrating 40 years of operations in Georgetown this year, is putting an additional $800 million in Kentucky.
The money will further Toyota’s approach to electrification so the Kentucky plant can make its second electric vehicle as well as increase production capacity of the Camry and RAV4.
The investment announced March 23 is part of a multi-year, long-term commitment Toyota said it would make late last year. In November 2025, Toyota committed to investing up to $10 billion in the U.S. in the next five years.
“For Toyota, manufacturing has always been about more than building vehicles, it’s about investing in people,” said Toyota Kentucky President Kerry Creech in a news release. “Ensuring customer satisfaction and safety starts with each team member on the production line. Our 10,000 team members are the heart of Toyota. We will continue to invest in them and in our future workforce.”
Since the multi-billion dollar commitment, Toyota has spent $204 million and created 82 new jobs in Kentucky for an all-new manufacturing system to make engines compatible with hybrid vehicles by 2027, the company says. The car company has also spent $1.3 billion to retool assembly lines to build the 2027 Highlander.
“Toyota’s investment in the U.S. is for the long-term, tied to our philosophy of building where we sell and buying where we build,” said Mark Templin, the automaker’s executive vice president and chief operating officer in a news release.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in the same news release the Bluegrass State “changed for the better” when Toyota chose Georgetown.
“I am proud to say that partnership and success continues today as we celebrate this remarkable milestone together,” Beshear said. “Toyota Kentucky is Toyota’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world, producing over 14 million vehicles since its doors opened and benefiting Kentuckians through good jobs and a strong economy.”
Also Tuesday, Toyota said it would allocate $4 million for the expansion of STEM learning and resources for Scott and Fayette County Public Schools and $400,000 for the manufacturing engineering program at Eastern Kentucky University.
Toyota Kentucky is the automaker’s largest vehicle manufacturing plant in the world. It is capable of producing 550,000 vehicles and more than 600,000 engines annually. Since 1988, more than 14 million vehicles have rolled off Toyota’s assembly lines where full-time employment is roughly 9,950.
Toyota Kentucky manufactures the Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, some Lexus models and now, the new Highlander.
Last year, Kentucky-made motor vehicles and their parts saw $4.6 billion worth shipped globally, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division.
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