US facility · Automotive
Toyota to invest $1.3 billion in Kentucky plant to build a three-row electric SUV
- Company
- Toyota Motor (Toyota City, Aichi)
- Project
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, Georgetown, Kentucky
- Value
- $1.3B
- Status
- Announced. EV production was pushed from 2025 to 2026, and in July 2026 Toyota delayed the launch of the Kentucky-built Highlander EV to 2027.
- Date
- 2024-02-06
Toyota said it would invest an additional $1.3 billion in its Kentucky plant, its largest factory worldwide, to build a three-row battery-electric SUV for the US market. The plan also included a new battery pack assembly line using cells from Toyota's North Carolina battery plant.
Why it matters
It was Toyota's first commitment to build an EV at a US assembly plant, tying its Kentucky and North Carolina investments into a domestic supply chain that can qualify for US incentives.
The plan
Toyota announced the $1.3 billion on February 6, 2024 for its plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. Toyota had said in June 2023 that EV production there would start in 2025. Since 2021, Toyota had announced about $17 billion in new US factory investment for electrified vehicles.
The plant
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky is Toyota's largest plant in the world, with about 9,400 workers. It builds the RAV4 Hybrid, Camry and Lexus ES. In 2023 it made 434,000 vehicles, more than 30% of Toyota's US output.
Delays
In July 2025, Kentucky also took over the electric SUV first planned for Indiana. The Kentucky model is the Highlander EV. Subaru's Getaway, which uses the same platform, will be built alongside it. After the July 2026 delay, Nikkei reported that production could start in January 2027 at the earliest, and Toyota said the 2027 timing has not changed.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
