The new plant will manufacture enough battery packs that can be used for 1.2 million electrified vehicles per year

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Toyota Motor selects North Carolina for its $1.29bn battery manufacturing plant. (Credit: Chris 73/Wikipedia.org)

Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota Motor has selected North Carolina for its new $1.29bn automotive battery manufacturing plant in the US.

The company’s subsidiary Toyota Motor North America will build the battery plant at the North Carolina Greensboro-Randolph Megasite. It will be the first plant for Toyota Motor in North America that will manufacture automotive batteries for the company.

The new plant will produce enough battery packs that can be used for 1.2 million electrified vehicles per year.

It will be named Toyota Battery Manufacturing, North Carolina (TBMNC) and will be owned 90% by Toyota Motor North America and 10% by Toyota Tsusho.

Expected to begin operations in 2025, the TBMNC automotive battery manufacturing plant will house four production lines. Each of the production lines will have the capability of supplying enough lithium-ion batteries for 0.2 million vehicles.

Initially, the focus of the plant will be on the production of batteries for hybrid electric vehicles.

Toyota Motor plans to expand the plant in the future to accommodate at least six production lines to achieve the overall capacity of up to 1.2 million vehicles per year. The plant is expected to generate 1,750 new jobs.

Toyota Motor North America CEO Ted Ogawa said: “The future of mobility is electrification and the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite is the ideal location to make that future a reality.

“North Carolina offers the right conditions for this investment, including the infrastructure, high-quality education system, access to a diverse and skilled workforce, and a welcoming environment for doing business.

“Today marks the beginning of a mutually beneficial partnership with the Tar Heel state as we embark on our journey to achieve carbon neutrality and provide mobility for all.”

The investment to be made by Toyota and Toyota Tsusho will be partly covered by Toyota Motor’s previously announced total investment of around $3.4bn in the US through 2030 in automotive batteries.

The US investment of Toyota Motor is part of the larger $13.5bn investment the company intends to make by the end of this decade in developing its EV battery technology.