Toyota investing $240M in new, dedicated hybrid transaxle line in West Virginia plant
12 November 2021
Toyota West Virginia (TMMWV) will invest $240 million to add a dedicated production line of hybrid transaxles. The new hybrid transaxle line investment will provide new equipment and operational upgrades to modernize the facility.
One important result of the new line is that it will allow TMMWV team members to diversify their skillset and to play a larger role in Toyota’s future production of electric vehicles in North America.
Toyota West Virginia is preparing for future market needs as demand increases in the area of vehicle electrification. The investment will fund targeted improvements that will increase our flexibility and competitiveness, allowing us to be in a better position to directly respond to shifting customer demand for higher efficiency vehicles.
—Srini Matam, president of TMMWV
Hybrid vehicle systems combine two separate sources of propulsion or motive power, such as an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, to take advantage of their respective benefits while also compensating for their respective limitations. While a hybrid system adds vehicle mass with the addition of components and is more complex than a conventional vehicle, the same system allows the vehicle to be more efficient and a hybrid transaxle can effectively transfer power seamlessly between the engine, electric motor and wheels in any number of combinations.
Toyota has committed to offering an electrified option across its entire lineup of both Toyota and Lexus vehicles by 2025. Advancing its production of electrified vehicles and their components, such as these hybrid transaxles, plays a part in helping Toyota to achieve its goals for carbon neutrality.
Toyota’s West Virginia team has and continues to play an active and important role in Toyota’s manufacturing operations in the US through a series of expansions and updates since it was established.
In February, TMMWV announced a $210-million investment and added 100 new jobs to expand capacity of its four-cylinder and V6 engine lines.
TMMWV annually produces about 1 million engines and transmissions for many North American-assembled vehicles. This year marks its 25th anniversary from groundbreaking, and it has since been expanded or received new investment 11 times.
Dear Toyota,
Why not invest in the future instead of trying to upgrade the past?
Posted by: sd | 13 November 2021 at 01:31 PM
Toyota:
Quit with the ICE propaganda and join in to developing a clean future for mankind. Greed at any cost is not a good philosophy.
Posted by: Lad | 13 November 2021 at 02:35 PM
@ sd:
I just stumbled across an interesting write-up concerning HB11 fusion and thought that this might be of interest to you.
https://emagazine.com/hb11-energys-aneutronic-non-thermal-fusion-process-is-it-the-way-out-of-the-fusion-impasse/
Posted by: yoatmon | 14 November 2021 at 08:10 AM
@yoatmon
Not quite on the topic but thanks. HB11 is an interesting technology and I hope it works out but it is some distance from being shovel ready.
Posted by: sd | 15 November 2021 at 10:43 AM