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These combustion engines by Toyota cost a lot but are projected to yield mind-blowing results.
Electric cars are indeed the future of automobiles, but Toyota believes there is still space for 4-cylinder combustion engines since the carmaker is pouring in a whopping $383 million in their US production. The funds will be distributed across four different locations throughout the country. According to the manufacturer, this engine is "the core of modern Lexus and Toyota automobiles."
Toyota's senior VP of Unit Engineering and Manufacturing - Norm Bafunno stated that Toyota customers desire fuel-efficient as well as electric automobiles. He further added that these expenditures enable them to meet client expectations and adapt fast to a shifting industry.
Bafunno also mentions that Toyota as an automotive company is committed to investing and expanding in the United States and that Toyota's staff are prepared to meet with the new challenge.
The majority of the investments will be for Toyota's Huntsville, Alabama facility, which will cost the company $222 million. There, the business plans to develop a new four-cylinder assembly line, including engines for both Hybrid and ICE-only vehicles. In addition, the plant will be expanded by 114,000 square-feet. Toyota's Alabama facility is capable of producing 900,000 engines per year and signifies an approximately $1.5 billion investment.
Related: Fuel Cell Vehicle: Why We Love The 2022 Toyota Mirai
Apart from Toyota’s Huntsville, Alabama facility, the Company has decided to invest in three other places in the United States, and they include:
1. $36 Million – Toyota Jackson, Tennessee
Toyota Tennessee would modernize its manufacturing equipment in order to produce new 4-cylinder Engine blocks. The facility, which represents a $425 million investment, has the potential to produce well over two million engine blocks per year.
2. $109 Million – Toyota Troy, Missouri
Toyota Missouri's development will offer new equipment for the production of four-cylinder engine blocks on three different production lines. The facility, which cost $564 million to develop, has a capability of more than three million cylinder heads per year.
3. $16 Million - Toyota Georgetown, Kentucky
Toyota Kentucky is increasing the flexibility of its 4-cylinder engine line, which has been revealed last fall, in order to better equip the facility to fulfill customer demand. The facility's powertrain plant has the capacity to produce approximately 600,000 units per year.
Toyota Kentucky seems to be the company's largest manufacturing factory in the world, producing seven Lexus and Toyota vehicles as well as 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder power trains. The Kentucky plant represents an $8.5 billion investment in total.
Toyota now offers a few four-cylinder engines in different displacements, in addition to the boxer four featured in the GR86. This investment hints that Toyota is developing a new engine, but the Company refuses to provide any other information.
Is Toyota falling behind? Aren’t they interested in moving with the times and investing in more modern technology like electric vehicles instead of investing in combustion engines? Well, Toyota already announced a $3.4 billion investment in October 2021 to develop batteries in the United States.
Related: A Breakdown Of Toyota's $3.4 Billion Electrification Investment In The US
It included the establishment of a specialized battery plant, which employed 1,750 people. The corporation did not identify where it intended to build this facility. The manufacturing of batteries at this facility is expected to commence in 2025.
Toyota also committed $5.1 billion in additional investments in its U.S. manufacturing plants last year to boost electrification efforts, proving its commitment to developing where it makes sales and assisting local economies.
Toyota's American operations manufacture half of the automobiles it sells in the United States, and its North American production lines create more than three-quarters of the automobiles it sells in the United States.
In addition to changes to its manufacturing plants, the corporation is spending on its future workers. Toyota has unveiled Driving Possibilities, $110 million commitment to assist education foundation. The initiative's purpose is to strengthen communities while also getting young people interested in and qualified for the labor market.
Robert Carter, Executive Vice President - Sales of Toyota Motor North America, stated that the company intends to migrate from hybrid vehicles to EVs when the time comes. However, hybrid vehicles necessitate smaller batteries, which require limited resources to manufacture. Obtaining scarce minerals such as lithium and cobalt for such batteries is more difficult than ever.
A hybrid vehicle's battery can be 10 times smaller compared to that of a fully electric vehicle. Hybrid vehicles are technically built to increase the effectiveness of their internal combustion engines. Plug-in hybrids feature larger batteries that could entirely power their automobiles for small distances.
So, is it more of a smooth shift for customers or a way for Toyota to buy some time while investing in its own in-house battery manufacturing? If it's the latter, it's a sensible method for the company to get people into its cars while also giving the company time to strengthen its own capacity in order to meet rising demand.
Hi. I'm Abioye Shinaayomi. I'm a Content Writer and I make it my utmost priority to create interesting and informative content on automobiles for y'all. Hope you enjoy my articles!