Toyota Motor Manufacturing will invest $1.33 billion in its Kentucky plant, the largest investment in the plant’s history, in order to manufacture the Camry using Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), the company’s new development and production technology.
TNGA will shorten the development cycle for improvements and for new vehicles, and will allow for a more flexible production environment. The new TNGA strategy that will change the way the company designs, engineers and manufactures vehicles will improve performance of all its models, including increased fuel efficiency, more responsive handling, and a more stable feel while driving, Toyota said.
Toyota Kentucky is the company’s largest plant in the world, employing 8,200 team members. It produced one-third of the 11 million vehicles Toyota sold last year. Four years ago the company invested $530 million in the plant to support Lexus production.
“This $1.33 billion investment is part of Toyota’s plan to invest $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, on top of the nearly $22 billion Toyota has invested in the U.S. over the past 60 years,” Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor North America, said.
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rand Paul (R-KY) praised Toyota’s investment. And President Donald Trump said the investment proves the economic climate has greatly improved under his administration.