Toyota is investing $383 million in four-cylinder combustion engine manufacture in the United States, indicating that the carmaker still believes there is room for them.
The largest share of the investment will go to Toyota's Huntsville, Alabama facility, which will receive $222 million. The business plans to construct a new four-cylinder production line there, which will produce engines for both ICE and hybrid vehicles. In addition, the factory will grow by 114,000 square feet.
This engine, according to Toyota, lies at the core of all new Toyota and Lexus automobiles.
The Troy, Missouri, plant will receive $109 million to upgrade equipment for making four-cylinder engine heads.
The Jackson, Tennessee, and the plant will receive a $36 million investment to make four-cylinder engine blocks, while the Georgetown, Kentucky, plant will receive a $16 million investment to increase the flexibility of its four-cylinder engine production line. The property is already capable of producing 600,000 power plants every year.
Toyota also announced a $3.4 billion investment in the United States to manufacture batteries.
This included the establishment of a dedicated battery plant, which employed 1,750 people. Production of batteries at this location is expected to commence in 2025.
Before 2025, Toyota wants to produce a hybrid vehicle using a solid-state battery. Toyota is ready to introduce the bZ line of electric vehicles. The bZ4X is the first to arrive, and it will be available later this spring in the United States.
The bZ4X has a single electric motor that produces 201 horsepower and has a range of 406 kilometers according to the EPA. Although the all-wheel-drive system produces 214 horsepower, the estimated range is only 367 kilometers.
The bZ4X, which was co-developed with Subaru, is built on Toyota's e-TNGA platform, which is designed specifically for electric vehicles.
It's worth noting that Toyota's most recent horsepower rating for AWD versions is a single pony lower than when the bZ4X was launched last year. Toyota claims that the AWD bZ4X accelerates to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, compared to 7.1 seconds for the FWD model.
The electric crossover has a starting price of $43,215.