Toyota’s Liberty plant celebrates another phase

LIBERTY — Another celebration of the new Toyota Battery plant in Liberty came last week.

This came with formal recognitions with what was described as a grand opening.

“We’re excited to see this innovative facility come to life and to provide cutting-edge careers for more than 5,000 North Carolinians,” said Don Stewart, president of Toyota North Carolina. “(This) celebration would not be complete without thanking our team members. Their dedication, commitment, and resolve have truly led us to this historic moment.”

During the ceremony, Toyota announced the second phase of Driving Possibilities in Guilford County Schools and the Asheboro City School District, with a Toyota USA Foundation grant of an additional $2.7 million.

It is Toyota’s 11th U.S. plant and the company’s first and only battery plant outside of Japan. Company and government officials have listed the possibility of up to 5,100 new jobs stemming from the plant.

Batteries had been shipped from the plant during the summer, so last week’s announcements were more of an official recognition.

Several North Carolina politicians lauded this next step involving the Liberty plant. In releasing statements, they noted that Toyota had made a major impact in Randolph County, Guilford County and surrounding areas in recent years and that this is another step in that connection.

Destin Hall, North Carolina Speaker of the House said: “Toyota’s historic $13.9 billion investment in Randolph County is a tremendous win for North Carolina and a testament to our state’s strong workforce, pro-growth policies, and commitment to innovation. I want to thank Toyota for its continued investment in North Carolina and congratulate them on the start of production at Toyota’s first U.S. battery manufacturing facility.”

Gov. Josh Stein and Stewart recently attended a summit in Tokyo to promote North Carolina as part of the relationship with the manufacturer.

The 1,850-acre Liberty site will serve as Toyota’s hub for developing and producing lithium-ion batteries needed for its ever-growing portfolio of electrified vehicles, according to the company’s information. The plant will house 14 battery production lines supporting hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The plant ships HEV modules to both Toyota Kentucky and Mazda Toyota Manufacturing in Alabama. Additional production lines at Toyota North Carolina are set to launch by 2030, the company announced.