Toyota Alabama adds new V6 engine line after $288 million expansion
Toyota today officially marked the completion of a $288 million expansion project at its Alabama engine plant, where it is adding two new V6 engines to its production lineup.
State and local leaders joined Toyota officials in Huntsville this morning for an event to celebrate the next era of powertrain production at the facility. The all-new hybrid electric-powered twin-turbo V6 engine and the gas-powered twin-turbo V6 engine will power the automaker’s redesigned 2022 Tundra pickup.
Today’s milestone coincides with Toyota’s two decades in Alabama.
“Our team members in Alabama recognize the confidence and trust Toyota places in us since we are the only plant selected to build engines for the all-new Tundra,” said Jason Puckett, president of Toyota Alabama.
“Launching the new twin-turbo V6 line and celebrating our 20th anniversary remind us here just how lucky we are to have such incredible team members who have made Toyota Alabama known as ‘the engine capital of the world.’”
Toyota’s new twin-turbo V6 engine line was part of an investment that also added 450 jobs at the Huntsville plant, the largest hiring need in Toyota’s history in Alabama.
The hiring spree boosted the plant’s total employment to 1,800.
Alabama expansion No. 5
Completion of this project, announced in March 2019, marked the fifth expansion at Toyota Alabama.
The automaker’s total cumulative investment is $1.2 billion in the Huntsville facility.
“For the last 20 years, our state and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama have shared a mutually beneficial relationship that has created remarkable outcomes for Alabamians,” Gov. Kay Ivey said.
“Toyota’s $288 million investment to produce the all-new twin-turbo V6 engine continues to demonstrate that Alabama is not only open for business, but is the best place to do business,” she said.
The twin-turbo V6 engine options for the 2022 Tundra are being built on the longest Toyota engine line in North America, at 142 yards. The V6 Turbo line will produce a new engine every 58 seconds, with a capacity to build 18,000 engines each month.
The additional engines push the total capacity for Toyota Alabama engine production to up to 900,000 engines per year.
“Toyota is a pillar in Alabama’s growing automotive manufacturing industry, and we have developed a special relationship with this first-class company over the years,” said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
“With the all-new, twin-turbo V-6 engine line, Toyota’s Huntsville operation has recorded yet another milestone. I look forward to seeing many more,” he said.
The all-new 2022 Tundra goes on sale later this year.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing has made an immeasurable impact on Huntsville over the last twenty years. This morning, at a celebration that jointly honored their anniversary and the unveiling of a new motor, I gladly gave a city proclamation stating how much they mean to our area. pic.twitter.com/FdDGbrOoLZ
— Tommy Battle (@TommyBattle) October 18, 2021
Meanwhile, Toyota is teaming with Mazda to build a $2.3 billion joint venture assembly plant just miles away in another Huntsville location. Production, split evenly between the partners, has begun with the 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross. The Mazda CX-50 is set to debut in January.
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing will employ 4,000 workers at full production.
This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.