Toyota to increase 4-cylinder engine capacity in Kentucky
08 May 2012
Toyota will increase annual engine assembly capacity of 4-cylinder engines by more than 100,000 at its plant in Georgetown, Ky. The increase will begin August 2013. This investment will increase engine production at the Kentucky plant to more than 500,000 annually and will increase total engine production in the United States to more than 1.2 million per year.
Toyota also has engine plants in Alabama and West Virginia.The approximately $30-million project will create about 80 new jobs.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK) currently assembles engines for the Avalon, Camry and Venza, all built at TMMK. The capacity increase will supply engines for TMMK’s Camry and Camry Hybrid and RAV4 in Woodstock, Ontario.
This is the latest in a string of production increase announcements since February including Toyota plants in Indiana, West Virginia and Canada. The cumulative investment is approximately $565 million and nearly 1,000 jobs are being added.
This engine production increase, and the several announcements before it, reflect our growing optimism for an improving North American market.
—Steve St. Angelo, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
Toyota has excellent products and planners but should update and upgrade the performance of their 4-cyls engines as others (Sonata etc) did?
Smaller/lighter 2 or 3-cyls upgraded engines should be sufficient for much lighter future HEVs/PHEVs.
Posted by: HarveyD | 08 May 2012 at 09:10 AM
I assume you are sending this info to Toyota?
They won't know to do anything if you don't tell them.
Posted by: ToppaTom | 08 May 2012 at 11:38 PM
Look at what Ford, Hyundai, Mazda and many others have accomplished with their 4-cyls ICE in the last 3 years while Toyota's 4-cyls have remained much the same. Even the No. 1 cannot stop advancing for too long.
Posted by: HarveyD | 09 May 2012 at 01:56 PM