Short dive:
- Toyota Motor Corp. is investing $922 million to build a new advanced paint plant in Kentucky that the company says will improve the quality of finishes on its vehicles. a press release dated December 12th.
- According to Toyota, the plant will add 1 million square feet of additional manufacturing capacity in Kentucky and use a new environmentally friendly paint process that will reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent and water consumption by 1.5 million gallons per year.
- The facility is scheduled to open in 2027 and will support electric vehicle production at the company’s current assembly plant in Kentucky once it is fully operational.
Diving information:
The plant will use advanced painting technologies to reduce production times. It will also improve the accuracy of the process and offer more diverse color options for customers that will help “Toyota vehicles stand out,” according to the release.
“Not only will our customers get the dynamic and elegant exterior finishes they love, but Toyota’s commitment to advanced paint technologies goes beyond aesthetics,” Kerry Creech, president of Toyota Kentucky, said in a statement. “It encompasses efficiency, sustainability and quality, leading the industry in environmentally friendly manufacturing.”
The paint plant will also support Toyota’s plan to increase the flexibility of vehicle production in Kentucky to adapt to changing market conditions as needed.
In February, Toyota announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant for manufacturing a new three-row electric SUV for the US market starting in 2025. The automaker’s planned upgrades include an electric vehicle battery pack assembly line.
The new paint shop brings the automaker’s total investment in the state to more than $2 billion this year. However, Toyota’s total investment in U.S. manufacturing stands at more than $20 billion as of 2020, intended to support the production of more electrified vehicles as the automaker works toward its goal of reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050.