Toyota spending $1.3 billion on Georgetown, KY plant for battery-powered SUV line
Big news today for Georgetown: Toyota is announcing a $1.3 billion expansion to its Central Kentucky plant for a new battery-powered SUV assembly line.
It’s more than double the original size of the expansion, first announced in May 2023. It’s unclear how the scope of the expansion has changed or if it will mean any more jobs for Kentuckians.
In a news release, Toyota said the $1.3 billion investment “reinforces (its) commitment to stable employment and future production.”
The Kentucky plant is Toyota’s largest in the world. It opened in 1986 and employs nearly 9,400 and makes their popular Camry.
“You cannot think of the Bluegrass region and Scott County without thinking of Toyota,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. “We are grateful that they continue to invest in our commonwealth and continue to set a standard for high-quality, well-paying jobs for our citizens. Thank you, Toyota, for yet another $1 billion-plus investment coming to Kentucky.”
In May 2023, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved up to $240 million in economic incentives for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky a $2.8 billion project that included introducing a new vehicle to the facility.
The total cumulative investment must be achieved by March 31, 2026, to receive the full incentives, according to state documents. Toyota also must maintain at least 8,055 jobs or the incentives will shrink. If employment drops below 7,750 full time Kentucky residents the incentives may be suspended, according to the authority’s document.
The Georgetown plant is expected to begin assembling the new SUV next year. Current production will continue as retooling for the new vehicle assembly begins.
The all-new SUV will be a three-row battery electric vehicle for the U.S. market and Toyota’s first U.S.-assembled battery electric vehicle. The Georgetown plant also will add a battery pack assembly line, with batteries being supplied from a $13.9 billion North Carolina plant scheduled to begin production by 2025.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, lauded the company for its continued investment in his county.
“Toyota is one of the best companies in America at predicting the future consumer trends in the automotive industry. I’m glad that the Georgetown plant continues to be the recipient of new and exciting models and I can’t wait until the first new truck rolls off the lot,” Thayer said.
Will expansion, new SUV mean more Kentucky jobs?
It’s unclear how many new jobs the Kentucky expansion will create. In 2023, Susan Elkington, then president of Toyota Kentucky, said employment at the plant was not expected to change.
Beshear’s office said in a statement that the Toyota announcement “builds on the company’s May 2023 announcement to invest $591 million in future projects and increase its job retention commitment with the state by 700 full-time employees to establish the company’s first U.S.-assembled battery electric vehicle (BEV) in Scott County.”
The Kentucky Toyota plant has been targeted by the United Auto Workers which hopes to organize workers there.
Toyota has pushed back against unionization efforts, saying the company is committed to providing secure jobs and has raised pay in recent years.
“Today’s announcement reflects our commitment to vehicle electrification and further reinvesting in our U.S. operations,” said Kerry Creech, president of Toyota Kentucky since July 2023.
“Generations of our team members helped prepare for this opportunity, and we will continue leading the charge into the future by remaining true to who we are as a company and putting our people first for generations to come.”
Toyota already has expanded electrification efforts significantly: The battery-powered SUV line is part of nearly $10 billion invested in Kentucky since the plant opened and $17 billion in the U.S. since 2021, according to the company.
The plant has changed the face of Scott County, whose population has nearly tripled since the 1980 U.S. Census. It’s also made waves across the state, Thayer said.
“(The plant) has over 100 suppliers and its employees come from about 80 different counties. Its economic reach is throughout most of the commonwealth,” Thayer said.
The Kentucky plant has made hybrid electric vehicles since 2006, and in 2021 proposed a $461 million expansion aimed at future electrification.
The Scott County plant also is the site for assembling fuel cell modules for use in hydrogen-powered heavy-duty commercial trucks.
Kentucky is a hub of auto manufacturing, with more than 100,000 employed in the industry, according to the Cabinet for Economic Development.
That standing will increase substantially with the $5.8 billion BlueOval SK Battery Park electric battery plants coming to Hardin County. That plant, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and SK On, a South Korean-based developer of electric vehicle batteries, will employ 5,000 and make batteries for Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles.
