For the first time, the automaker announced its battery production plans for 2021.
Published November 12, 2025
Toyota Motor Corporation has confirmed plans to start production at its $13.9 billion North Carolina battery plant and invest $10 billion over five years in U.S. manufacturing to expand hybrid production.
The Tokyo-based automaker announced the development status on Wednesday.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
The company first introduced plans to produce batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) in December 2021. Batteries from this factory are set to power hybrid versions of the Camry, Corolla Cross, RAV4, and an unannounced all-electric three-row battery vehicle. The plant produces hybrid batteries for a plant in Kentucky and a joint venture between Mazda and Toyota in Alabama.
“Over the next five years, we plan to invest an additional $10 billion in the United States to further expand our manufacturing capacity, bringing our total investment in this country to more than $60 billion,” said Ted Ogawa, president of Toyota Motor North America.
Toyota’s 11th U.S. factory is located on a 1,850-acre (749-hectare) site that can produce 30 gigawatt-hours of energy annually at full capacity and accommodate 14 battery production lines for plug-in hybrids and full EVs. The company plans to eventually employ 5,000 people.
Last month, US President Donald Trump said in Japan that Toyota plans to invest $10 billion in the US.
President Trump has criticized Japanese and other car imports, imposing high tariffs on imported cars, saying, “Go buy a Toyota.”
Toyota has been one of the last automakers to go fully electric, but it’s quickly moving toward hybridization of its best-selling vehicles.
“We know there is no one path to progress,” Ogawa said Wednesday.
“That’s why we remain focused on a multi-path approach that delivers fuel-efficient gas engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, battery electronics and fuel cell electronics.”
Other car companies, including Volkswagen, have announced they will add more hybrid vehicles after the Trump administration revoked the EV tax credit and eliminated penalties that had encouraged EV sales.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the event that the administration will soon propose relaxing fuel economy standards, saying the previous rules were too aggressive.
In January, Duffy signed an order directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to rescind fuel economy standards for 2022 through 2031 models issued under former Democratic President Joe Biden that were aimed at drastically reducing fuel use in cars and trucks.
Toyota stock rose about 0.4% in midday trading in New York.
