Toyota Motor Corporation has officially launched production at its new $13.9 billion battery manufacturing plant in Liberty, North Carolina, marking a major milestone in the automaker’s U.S. electrification strategy. The facility is Toyota’s 11th manufacturing plant in the United States and its first dedicated battery production unit outside Japan, underscoring the company’s long-term commitment to expanding local EV and hybrid component manufacturing.
The North Carolina plant will manufacture batteries for Toyota’s next generation of electrified vehicles, including hybrid versions of the Camry, Corolla Cross, RAV4, and an upcoming three-row all-electric SUV that has yet to be officially revealed. Initial production is focused on hybrid batteries, which will be supplied to Toyota’s assembly plants in Kentucky and to the Mazda-Toyota joint venture facility in Alabama.
Spread across a 1,850-acre site, the factory is designed for scalability and future expansion. At full capacity, it will produce 30 GWh of batteries annually and house 14 production lines serving hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric vehicle programs. Toyota expects the plant to eventually employ 5,000 workers, making it one of the largest battery manufacturing hubs in the region.
Alongside the inauguration of the facility, Toyota confirmed an additional $10 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing over the next five years. This raises Toyota’s cumulative investment in the United States to more than $60 billion, reflecting the company’s growing focus on strengthening local supply chains and boosting domestic production of electrified vehicle components.
Toyota has long been known for its hybrid leadership, and while it has been slower than competitors to jump fully into battery-electric vehicles, the company has aggressively expanded hybrid and plug-in hybrid offerings. Executives reaffirmed Toyota’s multi-pathway strategy, emphasizing that hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell technologies will all play essential roles in the company’s global decarbonization roadmap.
The opening of the plant comes amid shifting regulatory and policy landscapes in the U.S. The administration has recently eased EV tax credit rules and fuel economy standards, prompting several automakers—including Toyota and Volkswagen—to scale up hybrid portfolios while recalibrating their EV rollouts. Toyota’s battery plant positions it strategically to navigate this evolving environment while maintaining leadership in hybrid technologies.
With this launch, Toyota has taken a significant step toward securing battery independence, accelerating North American electrified vehicle production, and reinforcing its long-term industrial footprint in the United States.
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