Toyota Motor on Wednesday said it has started production at a new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina and confirmed plans to invest up to $10 billion more than previously expected over the next five years in the United States.

Liberty

Toyota has announced a $10 billion investment aimed at expanding electric vehicle, hybrid, and battery production in the United States. The company has begun battery production at a new plant in Liberty, North Carolina, which will add 2,500 jobs and bring total employment at the facility to 5,100.

This investment comes as other automakers reconsider their U.S. EV spending. Toyota, which already leads the U.S. hybrid market, plans to increase domestic production, including for the RAV4 hybrid, and benefit from clearer tariff rates due to a trade deal with Japan. The company has not detailed how the funds will be allocated but is committed to growing its U.S. presence.

Toyota to invest $10B in the U.S.

Despite slowing EV sales here in the U.S., Toyota just out with a big new bet on that market. For that, we'll turn to Phil LeBeau. Morning, Phil. Good morning, Carl. It's a $10 billion bet that Toyota is making when it comes to production here in the United States. A lot of that money will be spent on EV and hybrid production and battery production. And today the company is beginning production, battery production, at a new plant in Liberty, North Carolina. You might be saying to yourself, wait a second, aren't all the automakers drawing back their investments in terms of what they plan on spending when it comes to EVs in the U.S.? Not necessarily. And this is a perfect example. They're going to be adding another 2,500 jobs at this facility in North Carolina. There are already 2,500 there, 5,100 in all. And as you take a look at the hybrid market, this is why they're making this investment. Toyota dominates when it comes to hybrid sales in the United States. 51 percent of the hybrids sold in the U.S. are made by Toyota. Now, they import some of those hybrids from Canada, from Japan. What they want to do is to have more of that production here. The RAV4 is a good example. Batteries from this plant will go for RAV4 hybrid production here in the United States. As you take a look at Toyota versus General Motors, the reason we're showing you this over the last year is GM is also in the midst of reassessing how much it wants to spend in terms of battery production and EV production here in the United States. These guys typically don't trade in tandem, but that certainly has been the case, certainly, I would say, over the last month or two as Toyota, General Motors has caught up with Toyota. Bottom line is this, guys. I know we hear it all the time from people. Oh, nobody's going to be building EVs here in the U.S. Nobody's going to make batteries here in the U.S. That's not true. Yeah, it's happening. Did they get credit from the administration as well? I guess that they already have sort of the tariff rates are more clear with the trade deal with Japan. Tariff rates are more clear with Japan. That certainly has helped. And I think, look, like all major companies in Japan, I think they telegraphed with the administration. At some point, we're going to be making another big commitment in terms of investment in the United States. And that's what they're doing today. Ten billion dollars. Now, they're not quantifying exactly what that money will be spent on. Will it be more production in terms of final assembly? Will it be with batteries? They're not saying that at this point, but they are without a doubt trying to increase their footprint here in the U.S. Well, they won't pay tariffs if it's if the batteries are made here. Thank you, Phil.

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