To meet shifting customer demand, reduce its carbon footprint and advance future capabilities, Toyota Kentucky plans to invest $461 million to expand and upgrade its facility in Georgetown, Kentucky.

"As Toyota's most experienced assembly plant in the U.S. with a workforce of about 9,000, TMMK must transform physically and strategically to meet the changing needs of customers," said Susan Elkington, president of TMMK. "I am confident in our highly skilled team members who drive us forward every day as we prepare for the future of advanced manufacturing, whatever the products might be."

TMMK will continue to build the best-selling Camry, Camry Hybrid and RAV4 Hybrid. To help create space for future products and to better align with U.S. market demand, production of the Lexus ES and Lexus ES Hybrid will shift from the facility and consolidate production back to Japan prior to the next major model change.

"Expanding TMMK's powertrain capabilities and product mix supports our growing North America manufacturing footprint and commitment to build where we sell," says David Rosier, head of TMMK Powertrain. "The 2.4T engine line will give us more flexibility to offer a full portfolio of products, meeting current and future customer demand."

In 2006, Toyota debuted its first U.S. manufactured hybrid electric vehicle at the Kentucky operation. The most recent electrification milestone announced TMMK's powertrain plant as the site for assembling fuel cell modules for use in hydrogen-powered, heavy duty commercial trucks starting in 2023.

"Kentucky's automotive industry is growing at a record pace, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is at the center of that growth," said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. "Toyota changed the landscape of manufacturing in our state when the Georgetown facility first opened more than 30 years ago, and now the company is preparing for growth. I am thrilled that the future will include Kentucky in a significant way."

TMMK's transformation began in 2017 with a $1.3 billion investment in its operations, equipping the facility with the Toyota New Global Architecture manufacturing platform and a new paint operation. Once this project is complete by 2025, TMMK's total investment will be over $8.5 billion. The Georgetown site is also home to Toyota's Production Engineering Manufacturing Center (PEMC) and the Manufacturing Production Innovation Center (MPIC), which spearheads mobility transformation initiatives, technologies and advanced processing initiatives for the company's 14 North American manufacturing facilities.